Voters aren’t buying the explanations from the White House or the Biden campaign for the 81-year-old president’s daily display of senior moments, which most recently included him freezing up on stage at a Hollywood fundraiser and appearing to inexplicably nuzzle the forehead of Pope Francis at an economic conference with global leaders in Italy.
On Monday, the White House said a series of recent video clips showing the president wandering off or appearing dazed were “cheap fake videos” and “disinformation.”
They blame right-wing media outlets for pushing a false narrative that portrays Mr. Biden as a doddering old man. Their pushback has not convinced voters, who are increasingly worried about the president’s mental acuity and physical fitness.
A slew of polls consistently show that voters, including critical independents, think Mr. Biden is too old to be president.
A poll released this week by Issues & Insights/TIPP found that nearly half of adults say Mr. Biden is “not mentally fit” to serve as president. The poll assigned grades on mental acuity and sharpness. Nearly half gave the president a D or an F.
Among independents, 55% gave Mr. Biden a D or F.
SEE ALSO: White House says videos showing Biden freezing, appearing to wander are ‘cheap fakes’
Mr. Biden’s mental acuity took a critical hit from swing-state voters. Nearly half gave him a poor mental fitness grade, compared with 42% of voters in Democratic-leaning states and 52% in Republican-leaning states.
Only 28% of voters gave Mr. Biden, who walks with a stiff gate and has tripped several times in public, a good grade for physical fitness as he seeks a second term.
“As the I&I/TIPP Poll clearly demonstrates, a plurality of voters have significant problems with Biden’s physical and mental health,” said Terry Jones, editor of Issues & Insights.
Mr. Biden’s age became a central focus of the Group of Seven summit in Italy. A viral video clip showed Mr. Biden wandering away as the other world leaders watched a skydiving demonstration.
White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates quickly took to social media to say the clip was cut off and did not show the president giving a “thumbs-up” to another parachutist who had landed.
Even Obama administration aides joined in the defense.
SEE ALSO: ‘Double-haters’ rising ahead of election between Trump, Biden
“You can clearly see him talking to someone out of frame. Stop making s—- up,” Obama administration spokesman Tommy Vietor posted on X.
The explanations couldn’t disguise footage of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni guiding a stiff and shuffling Mr. Biden back to the group, where he appeared aloof as he slowly donned his sunglasses.
“They are babysitting our president in Italy,” conservative talk show host Clay Travis said in response to the video.
Earlier at the G7, Mr. Biden leaned in to press his head against the head of wheelchair-bound Pope Francis. Protocol prohibits touching the pope unless he extends his hand, in which case Catholics are supposed to kiss his ring. In a video of the encounter, the pope appears surprised by Mr. Biden’s unexplained gesture.
Former President Donald Trump, 78, the presumptive Republican nominee who is leading Mr. Biden in polls, has repeatedly called for the president to take a cognitive test.
“Look at the Pope — He’s freaking out! This can’t be normal, can it?” Mr. Trump posted on his social media site.
At an event Saturday, Mr. Trump called for Mr. Biden to get a cognitive test but misidentified the White House physician who administered his test. Democrats and mainstream media outlets seized on his mention of now-Rep. Ronny Jackson, Texas Republican, as “Ronny Johnson.”
One of Trump’s campaign accounts on Monday posted a five-minute video montage showing what the campaign identified as Mr. Biden’s public displays of “diminished mental fitness.”
Mr. Biden’s aides are trashing all the claims as an effort to distract from Mr. Trump’s problems, namely his recent felony conviction and three looming criminal trials.
“Those videos are clickbait,” South Carolina Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright told The Washington Times. “And I think people pick and choose what they want the image to be projected as, to drive whatever narrative they’re interested in.”
Mr. Biden, he said, “is sharp as a tack. He can do the work, and he has earned the presidency.”
Biden aides denied that the president froze on stage Saturday when he appeared with former President Barack Obama at a fundraiser with Hollywood stars that raised a record $30 million.
Mr. Obama was shown gently guiding a shuffling Mr. Biden off the stage.
Despite the video, Mr. Biden’s campaign finance chair, Rufus Gifford, insisted on X: “Nothing remotely close to this actually happened.”
Mr. Bates said the president was acting normally.
“By pretending the President taking in an applauding crowd for a few seconds is somehow wrong, all they’re really admitting is they can’t take on the leadership that’s fueling the strongest economic growth in the world & bringing violent crime to a 50-year low.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.