As the 2024 presidential election nears the corner, critics ramp up their speculation that President Joe Biden will not be able to handle a second term.
After the White House announced that Biden would not be partaking in the traditional presidential interview before the Super Bowl, CNN suggested his declining mental health may be the reason for it.
During CNN This Morning, Salena Mohsin— Bloomberg’s senior Washington correspondent— questioned why Biden was skipping the Super Bowl interview, saying it is expected of him to do it.
“[H]im saying no to something that he’s expected to do, a serious interview, he can really get his message out to an audience, just sitting, waiting for him, waiting for his message, is telling,” Mohsin said, adding, “Is it because he can’t handle it?”
The question forced CNN host Phil Mattingly to wonder if the president would participate in any presidential debate leading up to the election.
“I think I’m in the minority on our team in that I am convinced there will be debates, and I don’t see any way there is not. Am I wrong?” Mattingly asked.
“Look, since 2016, everything we were convinced of, we need to throw out. Maybe it will happen; it will happen for different reasons than it used to,” Mohsin replied.
Mohsin then referred to a clip of Biden mumbling his way through a previous interview, pointing out that it is a problem the president cannot get through a few sentences without losing his train of thought.
“[J]ust look at that clip we just saw. If he is not able to follow the questions, if his staff is worried that he can connect the dots and find the word that he’s looking for, that’s a problem,” she said.
Earlier this week, former President Trump called on Biden to “immediately” debate him.
“I’d like to debate him now because we should debate. We should debate for the good of the country,” Trump said.
While drinking a milkshake, Biden responded, saying, “I’d want to debate me, too.”
According to the latest NBC poll, three-quarters of voters, including Democrats, say they are concerned with Biden's mental and physical health.
"I think that [Biden’s] health and age kind of gets in the way of his ability to be a good president of the United States,” a female Democratic poll respondent said.
The poll found that 76 percent of registered voters say they have major concerns about Biden not having the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term, compared with 24 percent who have either minor concerns.
In addition, 95 percent of Republican voters, 81 percent of independent voters, and 54 percent of Democrats say they have major or moderate concerns about Biden’s health for a second term.