Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance
Before I even start with my analysis, I want to make the point that I hope President Biden is doing fine and on the path to recovery from Covid, as his doctor claimed in a letter (I’ll discuss below) that he was. I hope we can take the administration at their word, but I also think it’s helpful to not ignore mounting critical questions for our country.
I don’t want to start the morning off with hyperbole or sensationalism, honestly, but rather with what, in my opinon, has developed as a legitimate question over the last 24 to 48 hours: is the current President of the United States still alive and/or fit to lead?
Ever since dropping out of the presidential race on Sunday via a letter with a signature that has been in question and conspicuously lacking the seal of the White House or President of the United States, President Joe Biden has failed to turn up anywhere in person.
The swift decision to drop out of the race, combined with the announcement last week that Biden tested positive for Covid and would “self-isolate” —which incidentally came out after Biden said he would consider dropping out if it were due to a ‘medical condition’—combined with endless unproven rumors swirling on social media about a medical emergency, have left people no choice but to sadly consider a worst-case scenario.
Since Biden was last spotted on July 17 exiting Air Force One, he hasn’t been seen publicly, though reports have put him at his home “recovering” in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
As questions about Biden’s health began to swirl more and more over the last 48 hours, Biden‘s doctor released a note supposedly claiming Biden is on the path to recovery from Covid and had been administered Paxlovid. He wrote:
"President Biden completed his eighth dose of Paxlovid [an antiviral COVID-19 medication] this morning," O'Connor wrote. "His symptoms have improved significantly. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear.
"The President continues to tolerate treatment without any difficulty and will continue Paxlovid as planned. He continues to perform all of his presidential duties."
There was one little peccadillo I found interesting enough about this letter that I wanted to point out. Maybe it is overanalyzing and reading too much into things, but as an English major who sat through hundreds of hours of linguistics courses, I can’t help but notice things sometimes.
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The use of the word “absolutely” before “normal” in the above paragraph is a filler word. It’s unnecessary. It doesn’t add anything to the point that the sentence is trying to make, namely that Biden’s temperature is normal.
I have found that in some cases people add filler words when they’re trying to be overly convincing. I’m not saying this is the case in this instance, but every single news anchor who gave Donald Trump shit for constantly using the words “tremendous,” “strong,” “powerful,” and “big league” should tap back into that instinct, read this letter from Biden’s doctor, and let me know if I’m onto something or not.
Then we had Biden calling into a Kamala Harris campaign event yesterday. His scratchy voice boomed from the sky while a staffer hurriedly affixed a Presidential seal to the podium, as if he were there in person. Bizarre.
During the same endorsement, Kamala Harris appeared to almost admit Biden was on a recording (as opposed to being on the phone live).
Also bizarre is that the whole power structure of the Democratic Party and the 2024 campaign has shape-shifted without the presence of the current President of the United States in about three days. We’ve gone from Biden saying he won’t run again to Kamala Harris securing his delegates, fundraising cash and the backing of the entire party in less than 72 hours.
Why can’t government display this shocking level of efficiency all the time?
From there, last night Biden took the step of delegating some of his authority to support Ukraine to the Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State.
Biden has also, as of this morning, reportedly cancelled nine trips that were scheduled for the next two weeks, according to the New York Post. That doesn't sound like the travel schedule of someone on their way to a full recovery to taking back the Presidency for the next 5 months.
All told, I’m not going to try and play the “conspiracy theorist” again, but this site does admittedly “exist on the fringe” and does pride itself on trying to construct the objective truth using evidence, whether circumstantial or direct.
Right now, circumstantial evidence is, one stroke at a time, starting to paint a picture of it potentially being reasonable to question whether or not the President is healthy. After all, Democrats have lied about Biden’s mental health for years now — why wouldn’t they lie about his physical health?
Now, with every minute and hour that goes by, the whereabouts of President Biden will be the topic of discussion until he resurfaces, or at least shows his face.
Through a series of endorsements and behind-the-scenes string-pulling, all of Joe Biden’s necessary delegates have transferred to Kamala Harris in the short span of just a couple of days. Tens of millions of dollars in capital that have been raised for Biden have drifted to Kamala Harris via political osmosis. Rumors are abound about what additional turns the party may take at its own convention.
I would not be surprised to see a major geopolitical event take place this week given the precarious nature of the political situation in the United States right now. This is why it is extremely important for Democrats to level with the public and consolidate power behind somebody — Blinken, Harris, throw a dart — as quickly as possible.
This isn’t a time for window dressing; it’s a time to remind the world that somebody is still running the country for the next five months until the election.
If we do find out that President Biden is doing worse than expected or has tragically passed away this week, it’s going to beget a new host of questions: namely, how long has the President been in such a position, and who has been communicating publicly on his behalf, and with the approval of whom?
My guess is by the end of the week we’re going to have plenty more answers, but waiting in presidential limbo for the time being becomes an Achilles heel for the country. I’d say this no matter what party was in power: this situation needs to be dealt with swiftly, seriously, and transparently, not with PR spin, bluster, lies, and opacity.
Now, it isn’t just the party: the country is in disarray. We need answers.
I welcome your thoughts on the matter at our ongoing discussion here.
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