Remember that internet meme from a few years ago where a photo of a dress pitted everyone's viewpoint of reality against everyone else's viewpoint of reality. A whole bunch of people looked at the dress and saw it as a white dress. Another whole bunch of people looked at the same picture and saw it depicted a blue dress. I mean things got heated with this for a while. It was quite hilarious.
Well it looks like the same kind of controversy is going on in regards to a much more important topic of late. Namely, the competency of the president of the United States.
Last night, President Biden gave a prime time address to the nation from the White House ostensibly to discuss the recent findings of a special counsel regarding the question of whether Biden had illegally, or at least inappropriately, retained classified documents at his home during his tenure as vice president under the Obama Administration. I guess the question came up under special counsels review regarding potential memory lapses on the part of the president. Spurred on by this, the White House Press Corps went crazy with numerous queries regarding the president's mental competence. His reply was, in my opinion, rather aggressively defensive and not wholly reassuring in that he displayed some lapses even during this press conference. For instance he talked about where a rosary had come from which he stated he wore on his wrist in memory of his late son Beau but seemed to forget the name of the Catholic order who gave it to him. Later, after he was walking, or some would say shuffling, towards the exit at the end of the meeting, he decided to go back to the podium to answer a question regarding the situation in Gaza and erroneously called the leader of Egypt the president of Mexico.
But it's not my perception of how this press conference went down that's important. It's much more important to know what YouTube thought.
Here are the 30 something comments I copied and pasted from two YouTube news channels, CNN and Fox News Now. As you can see, the CNN comments are overwhelmingly In Praise of the president and chiding the behavior of the room full of reporters. As you can imagine, the commenters on the Fox News Now video had an entirely different viewpoint altogether.
CNN comments:
He didn't blame his staff he said he should paid attention to what was done
He's not blaming his staff, it's his staffs job to pack up the office, go though personal and classified doc's and shipped them to the correct places, his and Pence stuff was due to office staff failures,Trump pacifically requested these Top Secret Documents that are still missing.You should be a shamed for trying to make this one like the other, it's sickening how low our media will go for a profit.
no wonder he doesn't like taking questions. the undisciplined rabble that passes for a press corp need to just raise their hands and wait to be pointed out to ask their question.
I can't remember the disrespect of of some of the reports,it was out of control
One of the nice things about Joe Biden is he’s not a sociopath
What ever happened to actual journalism.....
what a bunch of vultures
he told the "mexican president' to open up the Palestinian border." excellent strategy
My memory is so bad I let you speak 😂😂😂😂😂😂 you go Joe.
The majority of The report/ journalist asked stupid questions ! They don’t even let him talk …
A president that speaks the truth is who i will vote for.
These reporters are embarrassing
Rude, inexperienced reporters. Period.
The way the press conducted themselves during the Q&A is absolutely disgraceful. They should all be ashamed of themselves.
Joe is spot on good job sir
Here Here good Sir.....I agree with Mr. Biden. Did not break the law. Hey but 92 counts......................0 counts!!
I am shocked at his grace and dignity in the face of those relentlessly screaming journalist, such a strong and steady man he is. If I had to face that as he does I would be screaming right back "control yourselves and behave like decent professionals!" I respect him even more, if that is possible.
Give them hell Joe, tell them about political brimstone for 'publicans & money lenders
He appropriately used the word LOSERS 😂👍
His memory is fine look at all what he has done 🔺️33🔺️🇺🇸
Geezus lord, these reporters are ridiculously acting like scavengers fighting over a bone. Stop being so damn rude, folks.
What does elderly have to do with any of this? why use that word? how is that relevant....
These reporters are disrespectful!!!! Yes, he is an elder. Being an elder normally gives you wisdom.
Give ‘em hell Joe!
The media is ridiculous shouting and the tone and ageism of these types of questions. Give this public servant a break! How are they treating this man like this? At first I was disappointed but damn, I prefer humbleness and how Biden responded. THEY are not this hard woth Trump over his “memory.”
The special counsel should have kept it shut with his personal opinions and left it at the verdict.
These reporters are DISGUSTING. They do NOT ask questions for 'the people' they ask questions for clickbait.
Why didn't they have the usual decorum of reporters being called on one at a time?? It was like a zoo!
I can't believe the way the President responded like a gentleman to a pack of jackals.
What a bunch of disrespectful vultures.
Thank you President Biden! You stand for America, the Constitution, American justice and AMERICANS -- even the ones who on the other side who come lining up for their government checks for their districts. IT IS ABOUT AMERICA AND NOT A DICTATOR WANNABE. Shut that down NOW. People who want that should move to N. Korea or Russia. For the good of the USA, Democracy, and SANITY, #VOTEBLUE 💙🗽⚖♥
He didn’t blame his staff. No wonder Trump calls you fake news. Anything to get a headline
What is wrong with the press corps and their questions tonight? I am embarrassed by their demeanor and questions and the simplicity of what they are concerned about. Just wow.
The press never ever ever attacks trump this way. These creeps smell chum in the water. It’s disgusting.
They are like seagulls.
This press conference with this angry mob of animals as reporters was a horrible idea. No good could possibly come of it. They were hugely disrespectful.
FOX NEWS NOW comments:
He isn't going to get any better...it just gets worse from here. Thats the scary part.
What a confuse mind.... the people that put him in this predicament are brutal😢
Dude ruining our country
Listening to obiden makes me feel like I'm crazy...
I think Biden should be in a rehab facility or a retirement home not at the WHITE HOUSE.
Whoever his physician is should be fired and whoever are his handlers should be held accountable for neglect.
They say that the presidency “ages” you. This dude had a big head start.
It's like watching a comedy show. To bad this is our reality. Who in their right mind voted for this guy??? 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
He is losing his mind, probably due to old age deterioration, and stress.
He should stand down.
Old, tired, and on the verge of death. Perfect representation of America sadly..
We shouldn't have to get an English interpreter when Biden is supposedly speaking English.
This shows you how evil the democratic party is, no one would explot an elderly loved one like this. Why is this not elder abuse??A sad puppet for barrack and their agenda.
And there are actually people that support this guy.
I watched my mother take care of my ill father for 11 years before he passed. She neglected her own physical and mental health. It's a microcosm of what is happening to the US.
He's getting the U.S/MX border crisis mixed-up w/ Israel/ Palestine.
This really is not funny. If Biden is sick with alzheimer's disease then his wife and the people around him should have had him step down a long time ago. This mocking of Biden is very sad we wouldn't laugh at any alzheimer's patients like this, and ultimately it is not his fault. I blame his wife and team for letting him continue in his presidency.
Biden isn't smart enough to END THE PRESS CONFERENCE.
He comes back to the podium and talks gibberish.
This clown is all over the place…. Talk about word salad….!
His staff must’ve DIED when he returned to the podium he was almost out of the room 😂
"Don't underestimate Joe Biden's ability to F things up."
My gosh, I BEG HIS FAMILY, PLEASE allow this man to GO OUT WITH ONE OUNCE OF DIGNITY!! BLESS HIM!!! He served his time as President, respectfully but NO MORE. DO THE RIGHT THING to not only PRESERVE HIS LEGACY but to save embarrassment for the United States of America.
biden, zelensky and netanyahu are competing for the clown of the year award. It's going to be a close contest this year
Using Bidens aged to. Get him out of trouble is insane cuz he chooses to be in though he and his family know how bad he has become
What does Mexico have to do with the border between Egypt and to Israel?
Joe's not well in the mind especially for America citizens
We have innocent people starving and dying in our own country! 🤬🤬🤬
We need to take care of OURSELVES first, then help others if possible.
Share this with your friends. Oh Lord I'm laughing. This is why he won't debate Trump
More money, more money......problem solved. Disgusting.
Aside from mixing up Egypt and Mexico, his response was actually sort of coherent, which is an improvement.
And mixing up Egypt for Mexico…well, they both have hot climates and pyramids. I doubt the average American can tell them apart. So give the guy a break. (Yes, I am joking, in case that wasn’t obvious).
The 25th Amendment fits this President
Unbelievable that this is what we call a leader 😢
Now we know why his handlers won't let him do press conferences.
This is like a SNL skit. Biden with that blank stare and walking back and forward is laughable.
By the way, I want to draw your attention to the photo of the president above. Notice that row of books on the mantle behind him. If you look closely they show the name of the most recent presidents on them. Irrespective of term of office, it appears that each president has two volumes each. From the left we can see Richard Nixon, but it can be assumed that there may be a few volumes hidden behind the American flag that precede his, Kennedy's and LBJ's volumes. From Nixon it proceeds down the line chronologically to Ford, Carter, Reagan (with those two presidents' volumes obscured by Biden's head), George Bush, Clinton and then the flag of the Seal of the President hides the rest. But I literally took a little measurement and I believe there's only room for four more volumes behind that flag which would account for George W. Bush and Obama. So apparently there are no volumes for Donald Trump.
I have no idea what these volumes are. Are they presidential memoirs? Or some other documents attributed to each of the presidents? I don't know but the clear omission of Trump, I can only guess, is on purpose and serves as a very subtle jab to the legacy of Biden's predecessor. Again, I'm not a Trump supporter, but I do see an enormous amount of effort, especially from the Democrats and pro-Democratic media, to downplay anything related to Donald Trump. Now if Biden himself thought about this little Easter Egg f-you to Trump, maybe this whole dottering old man business is just an act after all.
By the way, here's the press conference in question for you to view and decide which side you want to take. And in fairness, I grabbed the version put on YouTube by the hopefully neutral C-SPAN channel.