The Disinformation Campaign Being Launched Against Biden
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
During a town hall on Fox News Thursday night, Trump once again alluded to the idea that Biden is unfit for office . While the lies about the Bidens and Burisma will likely continue, the Daily Caller reports that this new line of attack will be a focus for Republicans and the Trump campaign.
This issue, however, is not simply being raised by Trump and his enablers. Steve Friess reports that a memo about Biden’s “cognitive decline” is circulating among Sanders’ supporters.
The Bernie Sanders presidential campaign is disavowing a list of post-Super Tuesday talking points distributed to supporters and surrogates on Wednesday morning that suggest Sanders partisans attack a resurgent Joe Biden on his “record and obvious cognitive decline.”
The material, seen by Newsweek , was posted on various social media sites and on internal WhatsApp groups for supporters of the independent Vermont senator as an official campaign communique, but Sanders communications director Mike Caspa said he’d never seen it before.
“That’s not a real document,” he told Newsweek . “It’s not ours.”
“This is now a 2-person race, and there will be heightened scrutiny on Biden’s record and obvious cognitive decline,” the document reads.
The message is obviously getting out there.
All of this feels very familiar. During the 2016 election, both Trump and the Sanders camp attempted to paint Hillary Clinton as corrupt. Now, both sides have teamed up on an attack against Biden.
We’ve all watched Biden stumble with words during debates and extemporaneous speeches. So as people committed to examining facts and evidence, it is important to gather what we know about this particular attack and not simply dismiss it because of the sources from which it is emanating.
The first thing that is important to do is to define the terms. Here is how the Mayo Clinic defines cognitive impairment.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious decline of dementia. It can involve problems with memory, language, thinking and judgment that are greater than normal age-related changes.
If you have mild cognitive impairment, you may be aware that your memory or mental function has “slipped.” Your family and close friends also may notice a change. But these changes aren’t severe enough to significantly interfere with your daily life and usual activities.
Mild cognitive impairment may increase your risk of later developing dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease or other neurological conditions. But some people with mild cognitive impairment never get worse, and a few eventually get better.
The second piece of evidence to consider is that in December, Biden released a three-page summary of his medical history in which “his doctor declared he is a ‘healthy, vigorous’ 77-year-old fully capable of taking on the role of president.” Here is what Stuart Jay Olshansky, a professor of public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago who analyzes the longevity of presidents, said about cognitive abilities after reviewing the report.
“The only test that hasn’t been done is the cognitive functioning test,” Olshansky added. “But the fact that he’s on the campaign trail and meeting a rigorous travel and meeting schedule probably would suffice as a replacement for the formal test for cognitive functioning.”
He said that cognitive tests are typically not required unless problems are detected.
In the January/February issue of The Atlantic , John Hendrickson writes that “[Biden’s] verbal stumbles have voters worried about his mental fitness. Maybe they’d be more understanding if they knew he’s still fighting a stutter.”
A stutter does not get worse as a person ages, but trying to keep it at bay can take immense physical and mental energy. Biden talks all day to audiences both small and large. In addition to periodically stuttering or blocking on certain sounds, he appears to intentionally not stutter by switching to an alternative word—a technique called “circumlocution”—which can yield mangled syntax. I’ve been following practically everything he’s said for months now, and sometimes what is quickly characterized as a memory lapse is indeed a stutter. As Eric Jackson, the speech pathologist, pointed out to me, during a town hall in August Biden briefly blocked on Obama , before quickly subbing in my boss . The headlines after the event? “ Biden Forgets Obama’s Name .” Other times when Biden fudges a detail or loses his train of thought, it seems unrelated to stuttering, like he’s just making a mistake. The kind of mistake other candidates make too, though less frequently than he does.
As a stutterer himself, Hendrickson critiques Biden for suggesting that he overcame his stutter.
Emma Alpern is a 32-year-old copy editor who co-leads the Brooklyn chapter of the National Stuttering Association and co-founded NYC Stutters, which puts on a day-long conference for stuttering destigmatization. Alpern told me that she’s on a group text with other stutterers who regularly discuss Biden, and that it’s been “frustrating” to watch the media portray Biden’s speech impediment as a sign of mental decline or dishonesty. “Biden allows that to happen by not naming it for what it is,” she said, though she’s not sure that his presidential candidacy would benefit if he were more forthcoming. “I think he’s dug himself into a hole of not saying that he still stutters for so long that it would strike people as a little weird.”
Biden has presented the same life story for decades. He’s that familiar face—Uncle Joe…He’s the dependable guy, the tenacious guy, the aviators-and-crossed-arms guy. That guy doesn’t stutter; that guy used to stutter.
That is the data we have available about Joe Biden’s cognitive capabilities. What it all comes down to is that there is an alternative explanation for his verbal stumbles and his medical records did not indicate a cognitive impairment.
Brandy X. Lee, one of the mental health professionals who has been very vocal about Trump’s unfitness for office, explained why a declination to diagnose Biden is in keeping with professional standards.
I do not diagnose without examination and do not speak about public figures in general, unless there is evidence of such profound danger to public health and well-being because of serious signs of mental instability in a public servant, that it would be a public disservice not to share the knowledge and training that I have. Biden has not risen to this threshold…
I never spoke up about a president or a presidential candidate either before or after Donald Trump, and neither have thousands of mental health professionals who have come forth with similar concerns in ways that are unprecedented in U.S. history, for any president of any party. I only speak up when there is a medical need of such great magnitude as to risk the survival of the human species. This is definitively Donald Trump, not Biden. Nor is it Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, or any other false equivalences people wish to create for political purposes.
Here is how another mental health professional described the comparison to David Knowles.
Biden “digresses and gets tangential, that’s not cognitive decline,” Lynne Meyer, a California psychologist told Yahoo News. “Trump’s cognitive decline or problems are that he doesn’t even seem to have comprehension of reality. That’s what it looks like.”
We are about to be subjected to a massive disinformation campaign against Joe Biden, and this one will be particularly pernicious. But for those of us who are fact-based, it is important to keep in mind that there is no data to support the allegations that are being made.
UPDATE 3/8/20: As this disinformation campaign grows, more people are weighing in. Here is an informative thread from Twitter:
I have extensive research training in both the domains of developmental psychology and speech/language disorders. Let me be clear: Joe Biden has a stutter. When you mock him for this or turn it into something else, you are causing harm to other people who stutter.
Stuttering is extremely heterogeneous in its manifestations. Researchers are still working hard at uncovering the psycho-social, cognitive, and linguistic factors that underlie stuttering, as well as factors that predict who responds to certain therapy, which tactics work, etc.
But many people who stutter do stutter persistently through life, even if they have responded well to speech-language therapy. And stuttering *can* correlate w/ word-replacements, circumlocutions, etc.
And *stop* equating normal speech patterns that correlate w/ stuttering to dementia. You are hurting people who stutter AND people who have dementia. Not to mention their loved ones. Dehumanizing many people at once AND spreading harmful, ableist misinformation…
I do not want to speak for people who stutter, but I will speak from a research perspective, as well as from a perspective of someone who knows many people who stutter.
Sometimes to avoid perseverating on a specific sound, someone will back up & choose a different linguistic route–begin a different sentence, for example. Or substitute a word. Do *not* mock this process.
Also, the stereotype of stuttering is *not* entirely accurate. The stereotype is typically repetition of sounds. This is 1manifestation of stuttering, but there are many other features, such as long pauses, perseverating (but not repeating) a sound, etc Stop spreading misinfo!
And, yes, fatigue and stress can exacerbate stuttering, even for people who have developed very successful tactics. This does NOT disqualify someone from being president. To claim otherwise is ableist.
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I think Biden misspeaks himself more than we would like to see, but he is more fit to be president than Trump in every way possible. As are everyone else in public life.
Biden IS mentally unfit to be president. That obvious fact would have everything to do with a Biden administration. Should he be elected, Biden would be a proxy for those who helped get him elected. They would in effect be running his administration.
Yep, the DC swamp culture is licking its chops with Biden after being taken to task for three plus years by the Trump administration.
A better puppet they could not have than Joe ....
At a recent "rally" Joe may have spilled the beans when he said "We cannot win this re-election. We can only re-elect Donald Trump."
Out of the mouth of babes!
what a bunch of nonsense. Trump has the most corrupt administration in history
Nope but keep holding on to that fantasy John if it helps
Even though Twitter has finally taken down the truncated version of Biden's remarks, plenty of other sources
truthfully reported it in full.
It's like dejavu with all of the old Obama & Bush statements taken out of context, or deliberately manipulated into a falsehood.
Or the Trump ones.....I wonder how it feels?
Examples of what Trump ones you are talking about?
So many to choose from. How about when as a candidate he said “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
That was widely reported (to this very day) as Trump asking Russia to hack Hillary's or the DNC server.
"You can't handle the truth!" (A Few Good Men)
UNTRUE.
It's proven the gop can't win without their dirty filthy tricks.
Trump is in much better shape mentally than Biden.
There's a reason Biden's appearances are limited so drastically. I think he spoke for 10 minutes at his last rally. Even a supporter described how a Biden rally consists of just hoping he doesn't embarrass himself and gets through the speech without any noticeable failures.
After all the whining about Trump's mental health, it's the classic progressive move to nominate someone who may have to stand down before the election because he can't handle the demands of the campaign.
when you can't pronounce the word "orange" properly, chances are there is something wrong with you
Can't remember where I read/saw it, but the incumbent president and his challenger are to have a face-off prior to the election, right? If so, Joe is gonna be pure, crumbly burnt toast against Trump's aggressiveness - and Jill ain't gonna be able to help him.
Orange is fine, you mean "origin". Don't forget the times our current President lost his own limo.
Especially when orange is what he sees in a mirror.
He will be the bully he is.
We see it over and over. Arch conservative trolls across the internet repeating the lie that Joe Biden is impaired. He is not. The numerous Democratic candidates who know Joe well have endorsed him exactly because he is the best man for the job. He is also strongest against Trump in the swing states Democrats must win to win the Electoral College. The damn gop is desperate to derail Biden's campaign. Well, Too Late!
Sure Joe makes gaffes now and then. He always has. Same old Joe we love and know. Obama's Legacy. Compared with gasbag Trump Joe is still solid as a rock. So, ready or not Trumpsters Joe Biden is coming right at Trump and he intends on winning BIG. Poor olde Trump is in full on panic mode. Markets are tanking. The virus is spreading like wildfire. Trump's chances are floundering like a bloated corpse on the Hudson.
Basically, the Democrats have to get out their vote. If they do that Trump is toast.
By November people will be so sick and tired of Trump's idiotic corrupt nonsense the damn gop will lose the Senate and dozens more House seats besides the Presidency...
Great plan, worked out super for you in 2016.
definite possibility if he keeps on lying about pandemic and never ending praising his shit initial handling of this mess.
Trump suppo9rters who act more concerned about Biden's mental well being over Trump's are thoroughly fooling only themselves.
Except Trump pulled an inside straight out of the Electoral College in 2016 while losing the popular vote by 3%. In 2018 the damn gop lost the midterm popular vote by 8%. Projections are that Trump will lose by 10% or even more in 2020. It is a whole new ballgame...
More like Hillary misplayed her hand badly and got her ass handed to her by a harder working Trump.
Not unusual in the least for a midterm election. In fact, that is typical for a midterm. Nothing to see here .... move along now .....
Your only hope is that something like this Corona virus lowers Trumps chances but by all means hold on to the fantasy.
Meh, the reactions to Trumps reactions to this tend to be heavily tainted by TDS.
Overreactions to what he didn't say or do and vice versa. Under-reactions to what he did say or do and vice versa. Etc, etc .... the administrations reactions have surely not been perfect but they rarely are for any admin and they HAVE NOT been as bad as many are trying to paint them imo. Again, heavily influenced by the clear and present TDS out there right now.
Do you really think you can look at this situation with a truly unbiased eye?
I have my doubts about that.
"TDS" does not exist.
One could only hope i suppose.
Democrats got out the vote in 2016. Didn't seem to help Hillary much.
Nah, i'm not ignoring anything. Especially the clear and present allegedly "lazy" TDS "trope." Yeah, i wouldn't want that shingle hung on my door either.
In reality there is little for the truly unbiased to realistically complain about this admins reaction to the Corona virus issue. I know, some folks don't like some of what Trump has said but most of that was simply taken out of context by heavily TDS ridden sources. Trump will be screwed according to those sources no matter how he response. He has done NOTHING right in their minds ..... TDS ridden minds.
You can't or won't see that. Understood.
Actually, it worked out just fine in 2018, same plan will win us the Senate, we'll keep the House and, we'll take the White House, in the mean time ya'all will be crying in your Moonshine.
Asked and answered. 2018 was a historically typical result of a midterm election. Nothing really cogent to see there.
But by all means, hang your hat on that and run with it. You won't like the results
Now back to the Kale/Tofu nuggets for you .... i gotta take another pull off my shine jar before grilling that Tenderloin.
Can’t explain it any clearer friend. At this point it’s best If we stop this right here. We can go at it if choose but it clearly won’t end in any kind of agreement.
Your call ......
Alcoholic: "I'm not an alcoholic"
TDS sufferer: "TDS" does not exist
He doesn't need the Hudson for that. He always looks like a bloated corpse. Speaking of the word corpse, remember when Trump pronounced the C in USMC as just that...corpse. But then again, a draft dodger would not know how to pronounce it correctly.
This article is rich considering the constant disinformation campaign thats been waged against anything Trump for three plus years.
So boo hoo ..... someone is calling a spade a spade on shotgun Joe with his clear and present senility
Squirt a few for me ......
You so quickly forget what a grownup administration is after Trump's lay to waste.
Ole crazy Joe will appoint only qualified candidates whle Trump did the opposite. There will be competency abounding again in our rag tag rebel flagged guerrilla warring factions of fiction as it takes a village not just one GIANT IDIOT !
Interesting direction your crazy streaming conscientiousness took you this time but not applicable in this case.
Or maybe it is .... i'm sure the DC swamp has Joe's cabinet already picked for him ............. no hair sniffing required .....
Hair sniffers and ass grabbers and bears .... oh my!
Should people just pretend Trump's mountain of dysfunctions dont exist, in the name of "non partisanship" ?
I don't understand your point. Yes, it would be better if we didnt need to point out what a pos Trump is. Unfortunately that is not reality.
If Trump is normalized and people stop ridiculing him, that is his best chance to win.
No more "both sides are at fault" stuff until after the election please.
the left has ridiculed trump since day one... and that is why he was elected.
but this time will be different? LOL
hint: no one is buying the leftwing bs anymore.
Trump was elected because enough white people decided they wanted to take back "their" country.
By the way, why would you vote for a buffoon who was a known liar, crook, bigot, moron and cheat, at the time?
It's called the "resist" movement.
Some of us haven't forgotten that threat.
I recall being told by a couple of people here ..... you just wait, you have no idea what is coming.
After three plus years of it, now we do .....
I didn't, i didn't vote for Hillary.
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Hell, no ones buying Trumps BS any more, have you checked the Stock Market lately, it's been falling since Trump put Pence in charge of the Coronavirus out break and, it will continue to fall as long as Orange Man keeps denying anything is wrong with the way he and, his administration is handling this crisis.
Correction: If Biden is normalized and people stop pointing out his cognitive decline, that is his best chance to win.
Glad to help with the whole quote...
Funny how they get so many quotes wrong. No wonder they hate fact checkers.
President Trump said the Corona virus is a hoax....
It's pretty hilarious to watch people cry "foul!" when people suggest Biden might be losing it.
For what? 3 1/2? 4 years now? Allegedly serious people have been insisting that Trump is mentally ill as they diagnose him from afar. This includes psychiatric professionals who should know it's an ethics violation. It has been pointed out repeatedly that none of these people have actually examined Trump, but the Left doesn't care. For them, it's "obvious" that Trump is mentally ill.
Now, some people suggest Biden is mentally unfit and it's just the most unreasonable, unfair thing any of them can imagine. Wow.
"Look!" they demand. "We even have a note from his doctor." I remember how those same people laughed and scoffed at the note from Trump's doctor.
Hypocrisy isn't a big enough word.
Is that the doctor that admitted that Trump wrote the letter proclaiming he would be the healthiest president of all time?
Trump dictated note saying he was 'astonishingly' healthy ...
May 02, 2018 · Harold Bornstein tells CNN Trump wrote letter saying he would be ‘healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency’ .
Russian propaganda has indeed been restarted, and surprise, part of it is to make Biden seem mentally unraveling, which we see has also been picked up by the magas and defenders. There are just so many more examples of Trump's instability, and Bloomberg will be expanding on that. This won't be pretty, we will all be covered by the end of it. Want to know what to expect, read this article. This is only the Russian reaction to Bidens surge, (same as the gop reaction). But the bullshit on Biden will be coming.
I suppose it would be okay for suspicions to be cast about regarding Biden's mental acuity. I know my kids and grandkids tend to snicker at me sometimes... as I temporarily forget something. Most of us older folks understand this as we saw it with our parents and grandparents and snickered behind their backs.
That's not to say we appreciate the snickering and comments. Trump fans should consider which age group gives him the most support, before commenting too much about the older folks, imo.
Biden claims he supports the 2nd amendment, but former Rep. Beto O’Rourke endorsed the former vice president Monday night at a rally in Dallas, and Mr. Binden reciprocated by saying the Texan would be in charge of his anti-gun efforts.
What did O'Rourke say about guns? "Hell, yes, we’re going to take your guns. We’re not going to allow guns to be used against a fellow American anymore, If you don't voluntarily turn in your guns we'll take them away"
Has Joe forgotten what the 2nd amendment is?
fuk beto and his gun grabbing bs.
it is as if biden does not want to win... LOL
"There is no data to support the allegation that he is in cognitive decline."
Do videos of him actually screwing up easy things like meanings, words, phrases, locations and just plain thought, count as Data ?
Joe might not be sniffing women's hair or groping much anymore (he probably forgot that he likes doing that), but he is "one messed up in the mind Dude" for sure.
Have a good laugh.
"..... with two jobs and sometimes even three jobs they sacrifice for the furniture....er....future of their children."
Donald Trump Value Voters Summit Oct 13, 2017
" Caronavirus " What is so whack is. If it was not for all the grade-school humor going on, this kind of thing could be overlooked. This is typical of why we need a new president to restore adult treatment to the White House press corps.
In the future, historians and Americans will laugh at the 'clown' who tweeted official inaccuracies formally .
As you might imagine, people, agencies, and governments are now trekking around and about themselves to create a vaccine for this "new" presidential slip-up virus: Caronavirus.