President Joe Biden’s chances of winning in November could now hinge on how he does in his debate with Donald Trump after a bombshell report on lawmakers questioning his mental decline, a longtime Democratic strategist theorized.
Former Clinton adviser Mark Penn addressed on Wednesday the Wall Street Journal report that cited 45 Republicans and Democrats who say Biden, 81, is in mental decline.
But he told Fox News that the article reiterated what people already know – Biden’s age and cognitive state is ‘clearly an issue’ before November’s election.
Trump, 77, and Biden will face-off in their first general election debate of 2024 on June 27 in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by CNN.
It will be the first time since 2020 that Americans will see the two go head-to-head and will likely put on display the contrast not only in policy but in mental acuity of the two choices for president next year.
And it comes amid rising concerns over Biden’s age.
Penn, who advised Bill Clinton and was a chief strategist and pollster for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, has become a defender of Trump in recent years.
He said that polls are clear that more than half of Americans who plan to vote in 2024 are concerned Biden is too old to be running again. If he wins again, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term and would break his own record as being the oldest person elected U.S. president.
‘It was a little bit of an odd story in the Wall Street Journal because it cobbled together essentially what voters know,’ Penn told Fox News on Wednesday. ‘Over 60 percent of the voters are concerned that Biden is too old to be running again for another term and I don’t think that issue is going to be decided by these whisper stories.’
‘I think there’s going to be a debate, they have deliberately thrown down the gauntlet for an early debate and I think that’s gonna be the point at which Americans judge: is he ready for another term or not,’ the strategist added.
The Journal article details Biden is ‘slipping’ in mental acuity, according to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
And with just five months until the 2024 election, Biden can’t afford any more supporters fleeing.
But the report paints a picture of a president considerably slower than days’ past, while the White House fiercely maintains the 81-year-old is still a top leader.
The dozens who spoke to WSJ described Biden as speaking so softly that they sometimes struggle to understand what he’s saying.
Others pointed to the commander-in-chief’s declining grasp of important policy details , and increasing reliance on notes and impromptu offerings from aides.
Several said Biden’s demeanor varies by the day.