Political pollster and writer Nate Silver suggested President Joe Biden is unfit to remain in office for the next two months and should allow Vice President Kamala Harris to take over for the rest of the term.
In response to a Washington Post article that claims Biden, 82, has avoided public appearances and reporters’ questions since the election, Silver wondered if he is competent.
“Is there any particular reason to assume Biden is competent to be president right now?” Silver asked on X. “It’s a very difficult job. It’s a dangerous world. Extremely high-stakes decisions in Ukraine. He should resign and let Harris serve out the last 2 months.”
Questions about Biden’s mental and physical acuity are nothing new, they plagued the president during his 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns.
Ultimately, concerns about Biden’s cognition led Democrats to pressure Biden to drop out of the race. The president’s poor debate performance sent fears throughout the public that he was unfit to hold office for a second term. Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee – something Democrats hoped would rejuvenate voters and earn widespread support.
Since dropping out of the race in July, Biden has remained relatively quiet, working behind closed doors and spending the weekend at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Is there any particular reason to assume Biden is competent to be president right now? It's a very difficult job. It's a dangerous world. Extremely high-stakes decisions in Ukraine. He should resign and let Harris serve out the last 2 months.https://t.co/02huFqQT3W pic.twitter.com/ZLWqcbkAYW
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 20, 2024
But his lack of speeches and interviews means the public must rely on his few public appearances to gauge how the president’s mental health is fairing.
Most recently, on a six-day trip to Peru and Brazil, Biden gave rare short public speeches and declined to take many questions from reporters, the Washington Post reported. A video of the president walking away from a lectern in the Amazon Rainforest went viral, as it appeared Biden was unsure where to go and just walked into the jungle.
