Dem Rep. Ritchie Torres Slams ‘Self-Delusion’ over Biden’s Mental Fitness

Democrat Congressman Ritchie Torres of New York is slamming the “continuing pattern of denial and self-delusion” over President Joe Biden’s mental fitness, insisting that further media appearances will not offer the 81-year-old president the “political salvation” he so badly seeks.

In a now-viral post shared on social media Thursday, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) highlighted what he described as a persistent issue within the Biden campaign, whereby the “narrative that the President simply had one bad debate performance reflects a continuing pattern of denial and self-delusion.”

“The President did not just have one ‘bad debate,’” he explained. “The reality we saw with our own ‘lying eyes’ is evidence of a deeper challenge.”

Torres, the representative of New York’s 15th Congressional District who left the Congressional Progressive Caucus in X owing to members’ outlandish criticisms of Israel, went on to express his skepticism about the effectiveness of upcoming public appearances, including a press conference scheduled for Thursday night and an interview on NBC on Monday evening. 

“The notion that the President is going to be saved by this interview or that press conference misses the forest for trees,” he insisted.

“I will respectfully listen to the President’s press conference tonight and the interview on Monday evening but the ability to survive a single public appearance is the [bare] minimum of what should be expected of a Democratic Nominee,” he added. “Neither the press conference tonight nor the NBC interview on Monday evening will offer the President the political salvation he seems to be seeking.”

Torres concluded by acknowledging the potential inevitability of the president becoming the Democratic nominee, despite “complications.”

“If the President formally becomes the Democratic Nominee, we will have no choice but to make the best of a complicated situation,” he wrote. “But there is no point in denying the complications.”

The matter comes as congressional Democrats continue calling on Biden to step down, with widespread panic leading to chatter of replacing the 81-year-old in a last-ditch effort to win the election following his lackluster debate performance against farmer President Donald Trump in Atlanta last month. 

At Thursday’s NATO Summit, Biden mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as Russian President Putin, raising further concerns about Biden’s health and political viability among some Democrats.

Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.