The pro-Trump campaign has reignited its efforts to undermine President Biden’s mental health as the 2024 election approaches. The narrative suggesting that Biden is experiencing serious cognitive decline began to take shape even before he officially became the Democratic nominee for president. Throughout the 2020 presidential race, a range of far-right meme-makers, Republican party operatives, and Trump campaign officials continuously insinuated that Biden was losing his mental faculties. Deceptively edited videos circulated, Fox News hosts claimed Biden was senile, attack ads ran questioning his mental fitness, and Donald Trump himself tweeted that his opponent had “dementia.”
H2: Concerns Over Biden’s Cognitive Decline Gain Mainstream Attention, Poll Shows
While the notion of Biden’s cognitive decline has long been a fixture in conservative media, questions about his abilities are increasingly becoming a mainstream concern. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed that only 32% of respondents believed Biden had the “mental sharpness” required for effective leadership in the White House. This represents a significantly lower share compared to previous polls conducted over the past several years. It is important to note that much of the narrative surrounding Biden’s mental health has relied on specious allegations or outright deception, despite the reasonable question of whether the nation’s oldest-ever president is fit for the demanding role.
H3: Manipulated Videos and Republican Campaigns Fuel Attacks on Biden’s Mental Fitness
The attacks on Biden’s mental health have been fueled by manipulated videos and orchestrated Republican campaigns. One example is an altered 2019 clip of Biden, created by a prominent far-right meme-maker and ardent Trump supporter named Logan “Carpe Donktum” Cook. This video, along with others, became part of a pipeline where MAGA supporters and Republican operatives produced content that would then be disseminated through right-wing media channels and amplified by campaign officials or Trump himself. Government officials, such as Trump’s White House social media director, Dan Scavino, have also directly engaged in promoting such content. Scavino once tweeted a manipulated video falsely portraying Biden as falling asleep during a media interview. The Trump campaign itself ran numerous Facebook and Instagram ads attacking Biden’s mental abilities, including videos suggesting he was mentally diminished.
These relentless attacks on Biden’s mental fitness continued into his presidency, with a group of 54 Republican lawmakers writing an open letter expressing concern about his cognitive state and demanding a mental fitness test. However, internal assessments by Biden’s physician, released in February, described him as a healthy and vigorous 80-year-old who is fit to execute the duties of the presidency. Despite these assessments, Republican attacks persist, and incidents like Biden’s onstage fall at the Air Force Academy commencement have fueled right-wing news cycles claiming that Democrats are hiding his infirmity while legacy media outlets are acting as apologists.
Furthermore, the focus on Biden’s mental decline may stem from the fact that it poses a significant polling liability for him, particularly when compared