why isn't anyone calling for Trump to drop out.

Chainweasel@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 883 points –

I get it, Biden is old and that's a problem, but why doesn't anyone seem to have a problem with the fact that Trump is almost the same age, has 34 felonies, raped at least 2 women, went to Epstein's Island 11 times, sexualized his own daughter, stole classified documents, aligned himself with Xi and Putin, and can't remember common names?

Is all of that really better than being 2½ years older than he is right now?

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Because, realistically, he won't listen.

Biden won't either, because he's already proved he can win this race and you don't retire a winning horse.

I keep seeing this sentiment, and it boggles me. Last season's winning horse just debuted this season with a huge limp, and the response from some people has been "it's fine, stop panicking, we'll win if we just keep betting on it."

Also, his debates last time weren't... ideal, but he at least remained awake during them!? Anyway, I'm with you: I understand someone wanting him to win, but how on earth can this be considered a done deal already?

There is a time and a place to stop all questions and get to work. But we aren't there yet!? And being ready to change one's mind based on the most current set of facts is literally the hallmark of the Age of Enlightenment, as opposed to e.g. the divine right of rulers to continue for as long as they wish to?

at least remained awake during them

It's fine if you want to criticize Biden, but can we stop with the Sleepy Joe bullshit? It's nothing but Trump's political slander.

I mean did you...

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watch the...

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thing, you know the thing, that does the stuff?

Please note, I'm not suggesting to not vote Democrat. Also, the sleepy Joe stuff back then was different than it was here during this debate?

Yes, not the whole thing, but I watched enough and I'm not even American. Is there a specific part you'd like to point out?

This is also relevant and worth considering: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-quips-almost-fell-asleep-onstage-debate-rcna160075

Also, can you type normally, please? I'm not sure what your formatting is trying to convey but it feels either sarcastic or condescending for no good reason.

I think the part where he finally beat medicare is the best example.

https://youtu.be/i3eYmc1AkMs?si=RJkeAb7gwN_TJOSG

That's a funny bit of fumbling. Reminds me of Bush's "You can't get fooled again" and the other contender's own brand of hilarious fumbling and ramblings.

The difference is that Biden has markedly declined from previous performances. He spent most of that night stumbling, mumbling, and struggling to speak clearly, none of which is his stutter, because a stutter is a very specific speech impediment. He was downright difficult to understand on average, and flat out unintelligible at worst. Even when he got riled up, like with the losers and suckers remark, it sounded like he was having trouble forming word sounds accurately, like he has dysarthria. Even in carefully curated campaign material, like asking for donations, he sounds out of breath and like he's struggling to speak clearly.

I'd like to see him on his upcoming interview all well and rested and then we can compare.

Sure, I'd welcome Biden changing my mind on this.

I think it's a little alarming that his last international travel was almost two weeks pre-debate and that left him tired enough to perform badly. And by badly, I mean the worst debate performance I've seen ever, and I've been watching since Bush/Kerry. I also don't think it bodes well that he hasn't yet done any big interviews or press conferences to show that it really was just a fluke, which seems like a fairly easy thing to do if he really is actually fine. I would feel much better about his odds of beating Trump if he could start reliably doing public speaking at a similar quality to what he displayed in 2020, which remains to be seen a whole week later.

This is the real problem. This election is likely to be close either way, a Biden that can't make appearances in battleground states before the election is not going to do well.

Excellently articulated. Perhaps there's a simple explanation for all of this - perhaps he's sick, or if we really want to get conspiratorial, even maliciously poisoned? (I'm trying to convey something that would be outside of his control hence not remotely his fault in any way.)

The thing is, it doesn't matter. He could have cancelled the debate altogether, but instead he rushed through it. This seems reminiscent of his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which tbf was 99.9% Trump's deal, except the handling of it was Biden's, and revealed some about his personality, to ignore his advisors and substitute his own knowledge for theirs. Which is fine, it's his prerogative as President to do exactly that, except... he was wrong. The first and basically only job of a leader is to pick good advisors and listen to them, so as to be correct. (Then, if time, train someone else to do likewise.)

This is also reminiscent of Bill Clinton's handling of his sexual scandals - it happens, but then he went and lied about it to the Supreme Court, which was a whole other thing.

So now, people are - FOR SOME REASON - not quite trusting that what Biden is saying is truthful. Maybe he means well, maybe it really is temporary, but again, none of that is relevant. He needs to reassure people, if not last week's opportunity then create some new one, that he really does have what it takes to go the distance and be the leader of the United States of America for the next four years.

Fuck, I'm freaking out, bc Trump is going to win.:-( Anyway, thank you for keeping your head about you as the rest of us lose ours - your calm and cogent analyses of things are helpful to read:-).

Three fucking years, Joe being senile was a "conspiracy theory" and then they trot captain Alzheimer's out

Tbf it really did seem a conspiracy theory back when it started. He used to be fairly energetic, despite being old. But, time passes.

The problem now is that unlike conservatives, liberals don't take as kindly to being lied to, and to say that he's both too old to speak and also not too old to be President... it just doesn't sit right.

Particularly when the same wing of the party was utterly vicious about Sanders' age when he was 75 back in 2016.

Case by case basis. Sanders, Trump, etc, not too old yet, Biden too old despite being numerically the same.

You’re right, it’s worse than being sleepy, it’s dramatic dementia and cognitive decline.

Cognitive decline, probably at his age, but dementia? Says which medical professional? lol

Trump has 88 really good reasons not to drop out. Without control of the justice system he’s going to be in jail for the rest of his life and republicans have shackled themselves to him.

I don’t know if you’ve been not paying attention but even if he’s not elected, he will never see the inside of a jail cell. Trump is untouchable. I’m not sure why, most people speculate he has dirt on some very powerful people - really serious dirt on many really powerful people. That’s only speculation, but if you recall during his first campaign he bragged about how much he was loved and worshiped he said he could walk out of Trump tower onto Fifth Avenue, and shoot someone dead in broad daylight and he would never face any consequences whatsoever. And he was right.

No, Putin has dirt on everyone in the Republican leadership. They hacked the RNC's servers, too. Lindsey Graham changing his opinion 180 after an afternoon playing golf with Trump should tell you everything you need to know. Graham was literally crying on Fox defending Trump. We all know he's gay, but Putin has to something absolutely terrible on him. Like having a chocolate bar in his mouth.

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Biden won’t either, because he’s already proved he can win this race and you don’t retire a winning horse.

this isn't 2020. it's 2024, and a different race. Trump has had 4 years to retcon (or rather double down?) on his reputation. (whatever, he's had four years to shore up his support.). Further, in 2020... the war in ukraine hadn't started yet, neither had the Israeli genocide in gaza; the Pandemic was still on-going (and trump was fucking up left right and center on that.)

the point being, the circumstances are different and Biden has a lot of baggage he's carrying- especially lately with Gaza. As they say in stocks: Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

It's going to be a battle, and I'm not sure Biden can win.

That said, Trump belongs in jail. (or the grave. I make exceptions for certain things. like being a rapist pedophile traitor.)

In a sane world, that should be enough for a cardboard cut out of Yogi Bear to win. I used to think that Princess Amidala being 14 and the planetary head of state was hilariously unrealistic, yet here we are hoping to elect an asshole that supports genocide because the other guy is a cartoon villain that would happily genocide his own citizens because they didn't let him do his pedophile-rape thing. It's the kind of plot Palpatine would appreciate.

you don't retire a winning horse

REMEMBER: You need that horse for working right AFTER the race.

The President is a figurehead, their administration do 99% of the work.

This isn't 2020 though, at this point in 2020 Biden had a 8 point lead on Trump and even then he only won a narrow victory in the electoral college with Pennsylvania, Arizona and Wisconsin, now he's down by 2 points overall and down even worse in those swing states. Then he was a relative unknown and people were willing to give him a shot against the known evil of trump . Now people have gotten to see him and they do not like what they see, his approval rating is worse then Trump's was at the depths of the pandemic.

This isn’t 2020 though,

Tell your superiors at the troll farm they need to change the script. Too many of you using the same exact phrasing is giving you away, tovarish.

Where is this reasoning that "Biden should withdraw" is a Russian talking point coming from besides the paranoid delusions of liberals who blame everything bad on Russia. Putin knows even less then us on whether Biden withdrawing would be good or bad for trump.

It's not even like this is a fringe idea any more, members of the house are calling for him to step down and even pelosi thinks it's a legitimate question, are they Russian trolls? We need to have a serious discussion on this and not dismiss the other side as a psyop like alex Jones, otherwise we're gonna let inertia carry us to a loss like in 2016.

Where is this reasoning that “Biden should withdraw” is a Russian talking point coming from besides the paranoid delusions of liberals who blame everything bad on Russia.

They don't blame everything bad on Russia. They blame everything they don't like on Russia. It's why they scream that anyone who says Biden should stop supporting genocide is a Russian.

You do when the Kentucky Derby is next week and it's got a broken leg

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