How Republican Operatives Fabricate Biden Gaffes
Long before he became president, Joe Biden was known as a “gaffe machine.” His verbal stumbles, exacerbated by a stutter he has fought since childhood, were so frequent that when he was tapped as Barack Obama’s vice president in 2008, Slate felt compelled to explain “why Joe Biden’s gaffes don’t hurt him much.” Their conclusion was that Biden’s missteps were so common that they no longer had much impact: “When Obama picked Biden, some Democrats suggested that Biden’s unpredictable tongue would become a distraction. Others criticized him as being too ‘safe.’ They’re both right. He is a gaffe machine—but he’s harmless.” This was why I argued in 2019 that Donald Trump was the perfect match-up for Biden: the latter’s noted propensity for gaffes would pale in comparison to his competition.
Joe Biden is also—I hope you are sitting down for this—old. Like most people his age, he is not as spry as he was when he was younger. He speaks and moves a little slower. He has more trouble controlling his stutter than he once did. At the same time, he is more adaptable and agile at 79 than most, as he demonstrated this past week
