Video summary
Tulsi Gabbard addresses the widely acknowledged issue of President Joe Biden's declining mental and physical health, noting that while insiders were aware for some time, public discourse often compartmentalized these issues to maintain a facade of competence. She argues that attempts to hide his decline through editing or selective presentation are insufficient against such significant deterioration in an individual in their late seventies. Gabbard highlights her personal experience observing Biden during the 2020 debate stage when she was running for president, asserting that he appeared sharp and capable at that time compared to recent performances. She points out that even former President Barack Obama showed visible signs of aging after eight years in office, suggesting that the toll on any leader is inevitable but particularly poignant given Biden's long career spanning decades from his election as the youngest U.S. Senator to becoming the oldest president ever. The discussion emphasizes the tragic nature of a political figure reaching their pinnacle only to be left with an "awful lingering aftertaste" due to cognitive struggles, which Gabbard finds deeply sad and uncomfortable for empathetic observers. She notes that despite knowing Biden was stubborn enough to decide on his own to run for re-election against advice from others, the public is unlikely to offer sympathy because he made those choices himself. This lack of empathy extends to how political discourse mocks and ridicules footage of a leader in distress rather than recognizing the human tragedy involved. Gabbard suggests that while there may be behind-the-scenes influences involving his family or staff encouraging him to stay in office, ultimately it was Biden's decision to continue running, making claims about external coercion difficult for many supporters to accept without acknowledging their own agency. Gabbard critiques the current political narrative as being overly focused on chaos and scandalous stories surrounding figures like Hunter Biden, Jill Biden, and Donald Trump's reality TV campaign style, which she argues distracts from substantive issues affecting everyday Americans. She contends that this fixation on high-profile drama causes the real struggles of working families to go unheard, including functional illiteracy among graduating students and failures in the education system exacerbated by policies like open borders. According to her, these critical economic and social challenges are overshadowed by a media environment obsessed with replaying clips of Biden's decline or engaging in ridicule rather than addressing the systemic problems that impact ordinary citizens' lives daily. Ultimately, Gabbard expresses sorrow over how political discourse has devolved into mocking vulnerable individuals on a global stage instead of fostering empathy and understanding for those facing such difficult circumstances. She believes that while people remember their lasting impressions from a leader's final years, it is heartbreaking to see someone who dedicated fifty decades or more to public service end with a reputation defined by cognitive decline rather than the achievements of their career. The conversation underscores a broader sadness in American politics where human empathy seems scarce, replaced instead by sensationalism and repetition of damaging imagery that fails to address the root causes of national instability affecting millions of struggling families across the country.
Read the full video transcript
going back to what you mentioned before
which was uh the fact that everybody
knew behind the scenes but nobody was
talking about out front which was the
declining mental health of Biden yeah
just how widespread was that internally
do you
think I mean it was impossible to ignore
but if you compartmentalize him keep him
away we don't let him out front that's a
cheap fake edit that's whatever I think
I think that's the challenge though is
they even as they did all of that
um it it wasn't enough to try to hide
his his you know both physical and
mental
decline um you know I I was with him on
the debate stage in in 2020 when I was
running for president and I've known Joe
Biden for a very long time was friends
with his son who also served in the Army
National Guard and
um you know people say have asked me
like did you see signs of this back in
2020 no I mean it was a Joe Biden that
that i' known for for many many years
and I think recently someone did a a
side by side of of his performance on
the debate stage in 2020 versus now and
how significant that difference is so I
you know even hearing KL Harris and the
people around him and you know mourning
Joe on MSNBC say oh you know he's never
been sharper and he's in the best form
he's ever been in his life
like anybody body who knows him now and
certainly has known him over the years
uh knew that that was all it was all
crap we've all seen those photos of
before term and after term I mean even
Obama who entered as this sort of
vibrant handsome black guy and he comes
out and you go that's two decades in
eight years congratulations job y of
course it is every every president every
president that served so
obviously when you're in your late
70s um um just imagine the toll the toll
ruthless so this is something about to
make one of the most unpopular cases
that the internet's going to hear this
year every time that I've seen this sort
of commentary around uh Biden's decline
it's made me feel sad it's made me feel
uncomfortable as I watch this and for
two reasons first one is the one that
everybody kind of agrees with which is
it's an older man who's sort of being
forced by this organization to be the
tip of the spear when he's evidently not
capable of doing it and blah blah blah
but the other side is this is is the
Twilight of his career yeah and people
remember the thing that you left them
with their Lasting Impression is often
the one that kind of continues through
and you know you've got you can make
whatever criticisms you want about what
he's actually done or said throughout
his care I don't really know that much
but I know the way that people socially
interpret signals from others and to
think that you've got this guy how long
has he been like five decades or
something he's been in forever I think
he was the youngest US senator ever
elected when he got elected to to the US
Senate right and now he's the oldest
president ever this guy's like the
parentheses of US Government right you
know the Al and the [ __ ] Omega yeah
and
um to think you know doesn't matter what
you say that was a very very long career
culminating in you getting to the
Pinnacle of this and that being this
sort of really awful lingering
aftertaste that everybody gets and I go
that that makes me sad that makes me
feel sad for for somebody I don't think
that's unpopular at all I think it's
just I mean as as humans who have
empathy not much of that in political
discourse sadly not and that's that's
been um I think that has been one of the
sad things that I've seen is is you know
all of the different clips and the
footage that's out there that gets
replayed over and over and over again
and and um just the the mocking and the
ridicule uh it it is it it is
unfortunate that that that is where
today's political discourse has gotten
rather than just recognizing exactly
what you've said like this is it it is
sad to see any person in this state
especially on a global on a global stage
um the thing is I mean you know Joe
Biden's run for president a few times
before he got elected uh it's what it's
what he's always want this is the
Pinnacle of what he has always wanted to
be uh to achieve that title to be the
president of the United States
and so you know ultimately he's the guy
who made the decision to run I have no
doubt in my mind that he firmly firmly
even against other people maybe telling
him he shouldn't run for
reelection uh Joe Biden is well known to
be a very stubborn man a very stubborn
man so the fact that he chose to run he
chose to stay and he chose to run for
reelection
uh you know I'm sure there are people I
know there are people around him who
benefit from him staying but that was
that was his decision that's why so few
people are going to give him any
sympathy for what's happened because you
go you already know that you're in
Decline you already know and if this is
true if it is the case that he wants to
run it's not Jill you know Marion I'm
sure she's got a role to play in it as
well marting him behind the scenes or
whatever uh that he is continuing even
now you know and then you actually get
yourself into a much more awful
conversation which is is he cognizant of
exactly what he's potentially trying to
sign himself up for like are we talking
about you know someone who's really
really detached I have no idea uh but
yeah I mean what a what an
absolute
it the fact that the Joe Biden Hunter
Biden Jill Biden story makes Trump's
reality TV campaign actually just look
like one smooth Arc between it all you
know stuff behind the scenes and stories
and what's going on in Ukraine and
there's this deal and there was a
backhander and all of these photos and
there was a laptop thing yo like this
country is mental like this country is
crazy and and the worst thing I mean all
of this is deeply troubling but when you
really look at it
who you know who who's forgotten along
the way in this whole narrative you know
it's it's the everyday working man and
woman who's struggling to get by it's
you know the fact that we have more and
more kids graduating from high school
functionally illiterate failing
education system that you you you know
open borders and everything that's
happening because of that the the real
issues that that are actually affecting
everyday Americans lives are too often
lost um or go unheard the their voices
go unheard because of um all of this
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