# Where do right-wingers get the idea that Biden suffers from dementia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 17, 2023, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152 "2023-05-17T06:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/61 "2023-05-18T02:34:41Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > He’s old, and he doesn’t have the (R) next to his name. This is it. Plus the obvious — that they know of the word dementia. While the parties, and left and right, aren’t a mirror image of each other in most respects, on this they are. So we see, based similarly insufficient evidence, the claims made about Reagan, despite implausibility: [Snopes on Reagan and Alzheimers](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ronald-reagan-alzheimers-disease/) > [@](#): > > There were certainly no indications of dementia (age, perhaps, but not dementia) when the 81-year-old former president delivered a 35-minute [speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxL3OU1dwmI) at the 1992 Republican National Convention, a performance _Washington Post_ reporter Bob Woodward described as “flawless.” > > It must also be said that given that the average life expectancy of a patient diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease is eight to 10 years, Reagan, who died in 2004 (10 years after his diagnosis), would have been extraordinarily long-lived for an Alzheimer’s patient if he was already suffering from the disease, as some claim, in 1984. It’s actually pretty difficult to talk and read from a teleprompter at the same time. I very much doubt Alzheimer’s patients can do it. Right there we have a cognitive test that Biden passes. ---
**Author:** ![Bicycle\_Bill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bicycle_bill/32/6208_2.png) [@Bicycle\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bicycle_Bill)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/62 "2023-05-18T04:00:18Z")
It’s a case of “Throw enough shit against the wall, some of it is bound to stick.” _ **-“BB”-** _ ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/63 "2023-05-18T04:56:47Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > …Here’s a full hour of Reagan being interviewed two years after he left office: > > [Reagan CNN Interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HM60M7Kgvs) > > Joe would be happy to be able to answer questions like that for an hour. Oh, and Reagan was exactly Biden’s age when he did that interview. Biden will be two years older than that when he _starts_ his next term. And you couldn’t be more incorrect. On the eve of the first anniversary of taking office President Biden spoke extemporaneously to reporters in the White House Press Room for 1 hour 51 minutes. [Longest Presidential press conference EVER.](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/19/2075681/-Biden-s-Press-Conference-Was-the-Longest-in-Presidential-History) He was on point the entire time. He had a couple of gaffes but nothing to indicate dementia or cognitive decline. I’m more than 20 years younger than him and I can’t imagine speaking and answering questions for nearly 2 hours. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/64 "2023-05-18T13:17:16Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > on this they are. So we see, based similarly insufficient evidence, the claims made about Reagan, despite implausibility: I think the main reason that Reagan gets the Alzheimer’s accusation is that it was pretty much his defence in the Iran Contra scandal that he couldn’t remember anything about many meetings and conversations about selling weapons to the enemy of an ally to raise money to fund terrorists. He did his best to look the feeble old man who is confused about what is going on and just a victim of other’s machinations. Not the public’s fault that he was a good actor. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/65 "2023-05-18T13:29:45Z")
I don’t think Biden is suffering serious mental decline yet, but it is rather upsetting that in a nation of many millions of young Republicans and Democrats - thousands of which must be highly suited for public office - that we’re facing again a choice of a septuagenarian and octogenarian for our president. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/66 "2023-05-18T16:06:56Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Agreed, but the thread title question is, after all, “Where do right-wingers get the idea,” Trying to track down the original source is almost impossible. Like any other conspiracy theory, it quickly gets picked up and repeated all over the internet. So long as a claim is useful to them, they’ll repeat it, often without attribution, so it quickly goes viral and just becomes “Every says so/knows so”, just part of the background noise of nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/67 "2023-05-18T17:02:43Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > a choice of a septuagenarian and octogenarian for our president. Blame the Trump-cultists and the MOR-Dems for that. I have little use for either of them, but that’s what they insist on and they have all the power. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/68 "2023-05-18T18:25:34Z")
Biden’s a corrupt idiot. He’s always been a corrupt idiot, but he’s gotten worse as he’s got older, and he’s now in an incredibly stressful position where his corruption and idiocy is on display. There’s no clear line when stupidity is due to idiocy or dementia, but it’s easy to blame on the latter, A relevant incident from a year a half ago, > **[Biden Says He Agrees After Christmas Caller Tells Him 'Let's Go Brandon'](https://www.newsweek.com/president-biden-trolled-lets-go-brandon-santa-tracking-broadcast-1663074)** > > The man trolled the president during a NORAD Santa-tracking broadcast on Christmas Eve. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/69 "2023-05-18T18:29:51Z")
That’s some weak tea. Oh, wait! Does the First Lady have dementia as well? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/70 "2023-05-18T18:30:45Z")
So, there’s one vote for right-wingers being so full of hate they just make stuff up. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/71 "2023-05-18T18:31:35Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Does the First Lady have dementia as well? Obviously. She thinks she’s a doctor, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/72 "2023-05-18T18:32:39Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Obviously. She thinks she’s a doctor, after all. This has to have some connection to those vaccine microchips. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/73 "2023-05-18T18:34:13Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > A relevant incident from a year a half ago, Is this an example of him being corrupt or being an idiot? That it might be an example of him not biting the troll bait can be dismissed out of hand of course. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/74 "2023-05-18T18:37:43Z")
They’ve been making stuff up for years. How many times was I subjected to Obama’s birth certificate and looming “proof” that something was hinky about it? Millions of people bought into the idea that Hillary Clinton was involved in a child sex ring run out of the basement of a pizzeria that was A) not a front for a sex ring, and B) didn’t have a basement, with literally zero evidence provided by anyone at anytime. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/75 "2023-05-18T18:43:35Z")
Like I said, trying to distinguish between idiocy and dementia isn’t obvious. Biden probably suffers from both. Here’s another recent example of his stupidity: > **[Biden says he visited Northern Ireland ‘to make sure the Brits didn’t screw...](https://www.politico.eu/article/joe-biden-northern-ireland-brits-screw-around/)** > > The US president’s blunt remark draws gasps from politicians in Belfast and London. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/76 "2023-05-18T18:48:39Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > Like I said, trying to distinguish between idiocy and dementia isn’t obvious. Biden probably suffers from both. Biden is gaffe-prone. This is nothing new. He was saying ridiculous/silly/stupid-sounding stuff back in the 80s. He even owns up to it. > **['I am a gaffe machine': a history of Joe Biden's biggest blunders](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/25/joe-biden-2020-public-gaffes-mistakes-history)** > > As the former vice-president enters a crowded 2020 field, will his well-documented past of confusing and embarrassing moments work against him? “Probably suffers from both” is just partisan “I don’t like the other side’s guy” nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/77 "2023-05-18T18:58:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > “Probably suffers from both” is just partisan “I don’t like the other side’s guy” nonsense. I have to wonder if any of the people saying Biden “has dementia” have ever actually interacted with someone they know well, who is suffering from dementia. My own mother is a few years into “mild cognitive impairment”, which is usually considered less severe than outright dementia, and yet, it’s clear in talking to her that memory is failing quite badly. Her short term memory is abysmal, and her long-term memory is starting to go (she has of late started thinking I’m one of her brothers, not her son, for example). Biden doesn’t sound or act anything like my mom. He might not be as good as he once was, but he’s no where near actual “dementia”, or even the milder cognitive decline like my mother. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/78 "2023-05-18T19:07:10Z")
Wow, you’re still on about this silliness? What a ridiculous thing to be so focused on. He thought it was funny, just like I did, and just like millions of other Americans. Big deal. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/79 "2023-05-18T19:14:29Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > corrupt Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152/80 "2023-05-18T19:17:03Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > A relevant incident from a year a half ago, I try to assume that people are putting their best case forward, not intentionally offering up weak sauce. Which means, holy crap, dude. Agreeing with that pathetic idiot on the call-in show is the equivalent of 👍 😀👍 i.e., the thing you say to a dumbshit to get the encounter over with. What do you expect him to say? > [@not Biden](#): > > What? I say, old chap, that’s not cricket! Have some respect for the office, you ragamuffin! I think Biden handled this loser perfectly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-right-wingers-get-the-idea-that-biden-suffers-from-dementia/984152.md?page=5)