It’s not cruel to point out Biden’s slip ups. It’s cruel to keep him in post

Joe Biden has suffered a string of embarrassing gaffes
Joe Biden has suffered a string of embarrassing gaffes

There’s an extraordinary video doing the rounds of the so-called leader of the free world seeming to freeze like a statue at an event with his deputy Kamala Harris.

Standing at a White House ceremony marking the anniversary of Juneteenth, an American holiday commemorating the ending of slavery, the Commander in Chief appears to be completely motionless before stumbling through a speech that is difficult to understand on audio.

It follows reports that the 81-year-old is increasingly having “on and off” days.

Another off-day seemed to take place during this week’s G7 summit in Italy when he appeared to wander off during a photoshoot with world leaders. As the president, who once again appeared to be completely frozen, turned to face the wrong direction, Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni intervened to usher him back in the direction of the photographer.

Some may think that it’s cruel to point out these obvious frailties – but surely it is even more cruel to let him run again in his current state? Every time he suffers one of these embarrassing public slip-ups, it erodes his standing as a global statesman and overshadows his legacy under Barack Obama.

Labour has now announced in its manifesto that it wants peers to retire from the House of Lords at the age of 80. But surely the same maxim applies: it’s not about age, it’s about competence and mental acuity. It seems odd that Sir Keir Starmer would seek to retire much older peers who happen to have all of their faculties while allowing younger members of the upper chambers to continue in post when they are far from firing on all cylinders.

If the Democrats had spent less time trying to imprison Donald Trump and more time finding an electable successor to Biden, they wouldn’t be forced to put him in this invidious position.