On Sunday, Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina attempted to shield Joe Biden from criticism following his disastrous debate performance by attributing it to his lifelong stutter. “All of us know how stutterers operate,” Clyburn told CNN. This defense has been echoed by Biden supporters across social media, framing criticisms as “extreme ableism.” However, the progressive left Atlantic magazine argues this is “dishonest,” as “Biden’s fellow stuttering Americans may trip over their words, [but] they do not… exhibit the many other concerning symptoms that Biden displayed at last week’s debate.”
Biden’s debate issues went far beyond stuttering, The Atlantic observes. Viewers witnessed “repeated freeze-ups, his mouth hanging agape, his vacant stare into the middle distance, and, above all, his frequent inability to present a coherent thought”—symptoms not characteristic of stuttering.
Biden’s stutter typically manifests in repetitions or short blocks around certain sounds. During the debate, his difficulties extended beyond these symptoms, displaying a broader pattern of cognitive decline. The Atlantic highlights how Biden stumbled through an answer to a question on the national debt, ending with the embarrassing conclusion, “we finally beat Medicare”—without exhibiting stuttering symptoms.
Biden: “Making sure we make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with covid, excuse me, with umm dealing with everything we had to deal with. Look, we finally beat medicare.”
Trump: “Well he’s right. He did beat medicaid. Beat it to death.” pic.twitter.com/FL152ERLiR
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 28, 2024
Critics argue that using stuttering as a defense for Biden’s communication failures is not only dishonest but also stigmatizes the disorder. Stuttering impacts speech but does not account for Biden’s concerning cognitive issues, suggesting he might be mentally unfit for high office.
Recent reports highlight Biden’s increasing thought lapses and reduced energy, consistent with aging and unrelated to stuttering. Concerns about his cognitive abilities are becoming more pronounced, even among Democrats and friendly media, leaving many to question his ability to serve another term.
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