Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, former President Barrack Obama is increasingly offering his support to the Biden-Harris campaign, which faces a number of obstacles. Over the weekend, Obama helped his former Vice President bring in roughly $28 million at a Los Angeles fundraiser.
However, footage from the event shows Biden struggling through his speech as Obama sits beside him on stage. In his monologue, the president appeared to be discussing the state of the economy and labor market. However, it is difficult to decipher what Biden was trying to convey.
“And guess what, it’s growing. The economy is growing. People feel better, we have the highest unemployment, highest, lowest unemployment rate in fifty years. We have more people. had over fifteen million people hired into the workforce,” Biden said.
He continued, “You know, my – my son says, “You ought to have a – you know, we all have various short – term descriptions for your jobs – for your what – what you accomplished. And you should say, Joe jobs, because it’s about jobs, about giving people a shot. You give them a shot, they never let you down.” Obama proceeded to offer Biden an encouraging, “There you go,” after he concluded the jumbled statement.
The footage from the event shows Obama nodding as Biden stumbles through the speech, appearing tense and somewhat uncomfortable. This clip is just the latest of many incidents that have fueled concerns about the 81-year-old president’s mental and physical state, where he is already the oldest sitting president in U.S. history.
During the recent G7 Summit, Biden sparked other concerns about his age amid his worrisome behavior among the global leaders at the event. Diplomatic sources claimed Biden appeared tired and seemed to lose focus during the summit’s programming.
Polling from earlier this year found that a whopping 86% of Americans believe that Joe Biden is too old for a second term. If re-elected, Biden would turn 86 before leaving the Oval Office. Moreover, 59% felt that both Trump and Biden were too old.
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The American Tribune reported this year that Obama is concerned about former President Donald Trump’s prospects in the upcoming election and is lending his efforts to the Biden administration. Reports indicate that Obama has been consistently holding calls with Biden’s team, advising them on how to navigate the political landscape.
According to comments from an aide of the Obama administration, the former Democratic president has been continually concerned about Trump’s chances at reelection. Those familiar with the matter have claimed Biden and Obama have spoken frequently, discussing topics “on a range of topics from 2024 to health care.” Watch the clip of Obama and Biden below:
Furthermore, it appears that Democratic strategists are increasingly looking to former President Obama to help improve Biden’s favorability. “No one can speak to disillusioned Democrats better than President Obama,” an anonymous senior strategist close to Obama and Biden explained to CNN. “But there are limits to what Obama can do. The burden to win this race is still on President Biden.”
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.