Russia’s attack on Poland last winter raised fears that the war would spread to Europe. The news was announced to President Biden at 3 a.m. during his visit to Asia.

Within hours, Biden met with top advisers, contacted the Polish president and NATO secretary general, and called an emergency meeting of international leaders to resolve the crisis.

A few weeks earlier, of course, during a special event for the children of White House employees, he had become embarrassed when he mentioned his grandchildren. “Well, let’s see. I have one in New York, two in Philadelphia – or three? No, three, because I have a granddaughter who… I don’t know. You’re confusing me.” On the same day, he was unable to answer simple questions, such as what country he visited last time or what is the name of his favorite film.

In the face of the octogenarian president, two versions of Joe Biden seem to coexist. On the one hand, an experienced politician, insightful and wise, ready to meet halfway even at the most critical moments. On the other hand, a man in his ninth decade of life, unsteady gait, poor hearing, and occasional memory lapses.

Fist and instability

The complex daily life of America’s oldest president was reflected in Congress last Thursday when that body ratified a bipartisan deal Biden himself had made to avoid national bankruptcy. Biden actively promoted this legislation, and even Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy stated during their negotiations that Biden was “a professional, very smart and very tough.” However, on the same day, a video of the Air Force graduation ceremony appeared on the Internet. At this, Biden stumbles and falls.

Anyone can stumble, regardless of age, let alone an 80-year-old. The position of President Biden, the head of the world’s most powerful state and a candidate for re-election in the 2024 election, is worrying and raises questions from both American citizens and leaders of the Democratic Party.

Extensive interviews with dozens of current and former officials, as well as people close to the American president, form a picture that is somewhere between the Republican caricature of an abstract and easily manipulated person and the model of a strong planet. ruler designed by democratic headquarters. His language mistakes are not uncommon, his friends point out. He himself struggled with stuttering all his life and called himself “a machine that makes mistakes.” His advisers, on the other hand, assure him that he remains extremely perceptive and that his mind is “razor-sharp”.

Biden is a seasoned politician, shrewd and wise, but also a man with a slow walk, hearing loss and occasional memory lapses.

Not ancient, wise

He agrees that the age of a politician raises reasonable questions, but should be treated as an advantage, not a disadvantage. Do you think I’m ancient? he said at the White House Correspondents Dinner in April. “I say I am wise.”

According to polls, the age of the president is a big concern for Americans, including Democrats. In a recent New York Times poll, Biden supporters expressed concern, noting, “I have sometimes seen his blank stare when he makes speeches or addresses the crowd. He seems to be losing his train of thought.”

There is also confusion in his party circles about Biden’s age. A prominent Wall Street Democrat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that Biden’s age was a major topic of discussion among party donors. At a dinner of former Democratic senators and governors, most of whom are Biden’s age, the majority agreed that the US president is too old to seek re-election.

Administration officials acknowledge that some of the requirements are tailored to the needs of an aging president. Most of his public performances are scheduled for noon, and he makes the weekends as free as possible. Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, the White House deputy chief of staff, insists, however, that Biden’s schedule has not changed due to his age. “Nothing more has been done than is customary for any president, regardless of his age,” he explained.

Examining Biden’s schedule, the New York Times found that he had the same morning rhythms as Obama. None of them held many public events before 10 a.m., just 4 percent in Obama’s last year in office and 5 percent in Biden’s first two and a half years. However, the real difference lies in their evening habits. Obama was twice as likely to hold public events after 6:00 pm. compared to Mr. Biden (17% vs. 9%).

Biden’s aides appear to be limiting his interactions with the media, wanting to avoid potentially dangerous mistakes. The current president has given only a quarter of Trump’s interviews and a fifth of Obama’s. Besides Eisenhower, he is the first president since Roosevelt not to be interviewed by the New York Times newsroom, and along with Reagan and Nixon, he completes the trio of presidents with the fewest press interviews.

The White House did not allow Biden’s doctor to speak to the press, as is customary for all previous presidents. In February, White House physician Kevin O’Connor released a five-page report stating that Biden was “able to carry out his duties to the full without exceptions or concessions.” The same letter, however, points out that the president’s stiffness when walking is the result of degenerative changes in his spine, excluding, however, neurological disorders such as strokes, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease.

Senile rivalry with Trump and self-mockery

Like people his age, Biden repeats expressions over and over again and tells the same stories. However, he works out five times a week and does not drink alcohol. At times he showed remarkable resilience, such as when he flew to Poland and then boarded a nine o’clock train to pay a clandestine visit to Kiev, where he stayed for several hours before returning to Warsaw.

Some again are disturbed by the emphasis placed on his age. “The reason this issue is brought up in the first place is because of the constant media coverage of it,” explained former Senator Ted Kaufman, a longtime adviser to Mr. Biden from Delaware. “He has accomplished more than any other president in my entire life,” he said.

The question of Biden’s age arose, of course, not by chance. Trump, his likely Republican rival, is only four years younger and was the oldest president in history until Biden took over. During Trump’s tenure, his mental clarity and physical condition were a source of concern.

After complaining about being overcrowded in the mornings, Trump stopped appearing in the Oval Office until 11:30 a.m. During a visit to the Military Academy at West Point, he found it difficult to walk down a small flight of stairs, let alone raise a glass. Most feared was his mental faculties. His behavior was erratic and he tended to babble. In fact, experts have found that his vocabulary has been significantly reduced compared to his youth. The partners also report that Trump had difficulty processing information and distinguishing fact from fiction.

These issues, however, are unrelated to Trump’s age, perhaps due to his pompous style. In a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 73 percent said Biden was too old to be in office, compared to 51 percent who said the same about Trump.

“No one is better at asking tough questions,” said Stephanie Feldman, White House secretary of staff. “He’s asking the same tough questions today as he did 10 years ago.”

Those who accompany him on business trips abroad express surprise at his resilience. When Italy’s new prime minister insisted on holding an unscheduled meeting on the sidelines of his visit to Poland, he readily agreed despite his already busy schedule.

However, he did not attend a dinner with other leaders in Indonesia last year and again in Japan in May. People who have known him for many years report seeing little change. According to one former official, when he sits, he usually puts his hand on the table to support his weight. He speaks in such a low voice that it is difficult to hear him, and his associates make sure that microphones are always available for his performances. However, his assistants said that while he may momentarily forget the name or event, the details never escape him.

Recently, Biden has been engaging in constant self-deprecating humor to defuse the issue, following in the footsteps of Reagan, who won re-election in 1984 at age 73 thanks in part to a pertinent comment about his opponent’s “youth and inexperience”. .

At a press dinner, Biden assured the audience that he supported the First Amendment to the Constitution, freedom of speech and the press, and “not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it.” And at the Air Force Academy a few days ago, he joked that “after graduating from high school 300 years ago, I applied to the Naval Academy.”