Joe Biden’s Communication Challenges Raise Concerns Among Supporters

For many years, the American president, Joe Biden, was portrayed as the «slightly rambling uncle» of national politics, known for his slip-ups and convoluted phrases, but concerns about his age have completely shifted the narrative.

The tipping point: a televised debate in Washington, DC, last month, where 50 million viewers witnessed him struggle with moments of absence, inability to finish sentences, and getting lost in his expressions.

His communication difficulties are not new and are partly rooted in the stutter he has had since childhood, which he has learned to control but sometimes resurfaces.

Over the decades, Joe Biden, now 81, has become a major figure in the Senate, where legislators can speak for hours, in a half-empty chamber with no one to stop them, a practice he has become known for.

His propensity to speak at length was one of the reasons for his defeat in the 1988 Democratic primaries, where he, however, gained notoriety for his life anecdotes, like his train rides or his childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania, topics he still enjoys today.

His second attempt, in 2008, earned him the nickname of «slightly rambling uncle» from actor Robin Williams: «Joe is like your uncle who just tried a new medication and hasn’t quite got the right dosage yet.» After becoming vice president in 2009, the echoes from the White House highlight the regular teasing from President Obama’s advisers about Joe Biden’s lack of rhetorical style and precision.

But after eight years of vice presidency and the tumultuous term of Republican Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s verbal approximations were seen as a familiar and innocent facet of American politics.

«Rambling, stumbling, mumbling is common among many politicians, even among the most respected, and Joe Biden is one of them,» says Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University in popular culture and media.

«However, what we witnessed starkly and unforgettable during the debate is not what we usually see,» he told AFP.

On screen, the American president appeared not just vague or imprecise but also breathless, mumbling, and at times lost.

Since then, notes Mr. Thompson, every move he makes is scrutinized, with political journalists in Washington being doubly vigilant after facing criticism for not alerting the public to the president’s state before the debate.

«It is simply stunning to see the entire country, even the most informed journalists, shocked by the raw and painful reality of Mr. Biden’s performance during the debate,» wrote Jill Abramson, former editor-in-chief of the New York Times, on the Semafor site.

This necessitates Joe Biden to be impeccable going forward, as highlighted again during the press conference following the summit in Washington, where his slightest blunders went viral on social media.

«Presidents constantly make gaffes,» however, Matt Dallek, a professor at George Washington University, nuances, «but due to his debate performance, even the smallest blunder takes on huge proportions.»

There was a time when referring to Mr. Trump as his «vice president» would be quickly forgotten, but not anymore.

«Donald Trump uses all of this to mock your age and the state of your memory. How do you combat these kinds of criticisms?» asked a journalist after a new gaffe.