Jake Tapper: Biden coverup "maybe worse than Watergate"

[Tom Rinaldo]

42. Time, literally, will tell

Issues Biden may or may not have had were at worst manageable in the present tense. He was finishing his four year elected term, and he had a seasoned team around him. Clearly, often at least, he was still sharp.

But four years is a long time once someone starts entering the early stages of mental decline, and the presidency is as demanding a job as exists, period. Again, worst case, a caretaker government say in 2027 with Joe Biden functioning as a figurehead (if it had come to that) would have governed infinitely better than one under Donald Trump. Or the 25th amendment could have been invoked if things got really bad.

The question was never: Is Joe Biden still fit to serve? At any point during his first term as President, including the final months, I would have said, given his wisdom and experience, yes. The question was: How will Joe Biden hold up during four more years in office? Joe Biden is in private life now, but no doubt there will be some indications of how his health is doing that will come out. Bill Clinton is the same age as Donald Trump now; 78. Maybe Bill has lost a step or two over when he was in office but his knowledge is intact. Bernie Sanders is two years older than Joe Biden, and he still has it.

But if Joe Biden does go into a rapid serious cognitive decline, it will be seen as a scandal by many that the Democratic Party was on the verge of running him for another four year term as President.