Joe Biden is approaching 80 years old and long has been known as a gaffe machine, often times simply losing his train of thought, leaving out the end of a sentence or making nonsensical claims in his interactions with reporters. He’s even wandered off across the lawn while trying to find the White House.
He’s told stories that simply aren’t true over and over.
Then, his first year in office was plagued by a crisis at the southern border that he created by canceling President Trump’s security measures, by the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, by major questions about scandals involving his son, Hunter, by the failure of his major pieces of legislation, by inflation that surged to four-decade highs, by surging crime and worse.
So when he addresses the nation in the nearing state of the union address to Congress, he needs to be very careful.
That’s according to David Axelrod, one of the key advisers to Barack Obama during that 2008 presidential campaign.
According to the Daily Wire, Axelrod suggests Biden “tone down his rhetoric.”
He should, in fact, paint things as they really are in America, acknowledging the pains Americans are feeling.
Axelrod pointed out the speech will give Biden the largest audience he’s likely to have this year.
“But, Mr. President, proceed with caution,” Axelrod wrote. “Talk about the things you and Congress have done to help meet the challenges Americans are facing, for sure. Lay out your goals for the future, absolutely. Offer realistic hope for better days ahead.”
But he said that’s not all.
Implying that Biden’s presidency already is a disaster, he explained, “Unsurprisingly, incidents of suicide, drug overdose deaths and violence in our homes and on the streets have grown dramatically. Frustrations with masks, mandates and shifting rules have deepened our political divides. Jobs have come roaring back, raising wages. But those wage increases have been eaten up by inflation, the likes of which we have not seen in four decades. And all the while, the rich have gotten richer.
“The state of the union is stressed. To claim otherwise — to highlight the progress we have made, without fully acknowledging the hard road we have traveled and the distance we need to go — would seem off-key and out of touch,” he said.
“You simply cannot jawbone Americans into believing that things are better than they feel.”
Biden has, as his approval numbers have plunged, been increasing hostile to reporters. Just last week Biden scolded NBC’s Lester Holt for being a “wise guy” when he asked about inflation.
That’s identified by polls as the top concern for Americans, and it recently was reported as having reached the sky-high 7.5%.
Biden denied any responsibility, blaming it on “computer chips.” He repeatedly has called inflation “temporary.”
But it’s proven much longer and steeper than forecast, and he lashed out when Holt raised the question.
“Well, you’re being a wise guy with me a little bit, and I understand that’s your job. But look, at the time, what happened was the, uh, let’s look at the reasons for the inflation. And the reason for the inflation is the supply chains were cut off, meaning that the products, for example, automobiles, the lack of computer chips to be able to build those automobiles so they could function, they need those computer chips, they were not available,” Biden said.
Axelrod also noted the Biden administration recently promised to cure cancer and bring auto accidents to zero.
He said Biden needs to “recognize that we are still in the grips of a national trauma. Polls show that the vast majority of Americans believe we are on the wrong track, and people will have little patience for lavish claims of progress that defy their lived experiences.”
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