Biden stays or not? Why focusing on his hands, pauses and slips is dangerous

Biden stays. “I am the most qualified to run for President of the United States”: Joe Biden is not withdrawing and he repeated it last night at the closing press conference of the NATO summit, followed by newspapers around the world to understand if it would have gone better or worse than the highly criticized appearance at the debate against Trump two weeks ago. How did it go? Better, despite some gaffes – he confused Volodymir Zelensky with Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump with Kamala Harris.

The conference, already described as the “highest pressure speech in history for a president”, was an important test to re-verify the apparent health conditions of the candidate, that’s all the talk of the political talk shows and in the US newspapers. It came at a time when, according to Politic, The number of Democratic congressmen and senators who believe Biden should leave the race has grown steadilyfrom Senator Michael Bennett to the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Then he got down to business George Clooneya party financier and involved in a social campaign with Julia Roberts in support of Biden, who dumped the president: “He can’t win his battle against time. None of us can. It’s terrible to say but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago for a fundraiser was not the Joe Biden of 2010. He was not the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same person we saw at the debate.” The actor also Michael Douglas followed suit, saying he was concerned that President Joe Biden might be able to fill the void if re-elected.

To tell the truth, on this occasion Biden reiterated that he is the best candidate in the electoral race but he also admitted that Kamala Harris is capable of being president and that he will withdraw if a poll says he has no chance of winning. A “strategic” opening, according to some political observers.

In this climate, the performance of the president, who still speaks softly and quietly, has not dispelled doubts. But the point is another, now. The New York Times reflects on the fact that our attention, now entirely concentrated on the candidate’s health, means that Until November, any public appearance by Biden will be scrutinized not so much on the content, on the policies he wants to implement, on the contrast to Trump, but on the form, on seeking “evidence of his infirmity”. Biden yesterday spoke of the war in Ukraine and the fact that he is not having talks, for now, with Vladimir Putinthreatened economic consequences if the China helps Russia militarilybut political speeches have taken a back seat.

And here we come to the real crux of the matter: we can afford this shift in attentionin a historical moment like this, between Chinese planes flying over Taiwan, the increasingly militarized war in Ukraine, the one in Israel with no way out, a Europe between the ambiguous Hungarian leadership and the pushes of the far right in the new party of patriots? Maybe not. Hasn’t the time come to take a step back, and remove from the table of the – very tough – challenge to Trump our obsession in looking at the president’s hands and gaze, in scrutinizing his every pause and slip?