Danger Close with Brian O'Leary

Danger Close with Brian O'Leary

Shoulda Seen it Coming

Joe's cognitive tailspin was evident long before the debate

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Brian O'Leary
Jun 27, 2025
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One year ago tonight, Joe Biden put to rest any question about what many of us had long suspected — that he was clearly nowhere near capable of fulfilling his duties as the leader of the free world.

Throughout the June 27 debate, a hoarse Biden stumbled over basic policy points and repeatedly lost his train of thought, at one point abruptly jumping from abortion to illegal immigration.

“And third trimester is between the doctor, I mean, between the woman and the state. And we—excuse me—on the border, I’m going to continue to move until we get to total ban… more border patrol and more asylum officers.”

At multiple points, he froze behind the podium, his mouth agape and his eyes staring widely into nowhere as if he’d just been hit over the head by a cartoon frying pan.

He concluded a rambling, all-over-the-place answer where he confused millions, billions, and trillions with, “…what I’ve been able to do with the—with the COVID, excuse me, with, um, dealing with everything we have to do with, uh, look, if…we finally beat Medicare.”

Reading it in print doesn’t nearly do it justice, so here’s a sample.

Jake Tapper jumped in there like a referee declaring a TKO.

Tony Weeks you're fired - by Pedro Limon

And though CNN didn’t air the footage, when the beat-down was finally over, the Enabler-in-Chief, Lady McBiden, spoke to the President of the United States as if he were a toddler after a shitty soccer game.

After that ridiculous farce, the First Lady then had to help our chief executive down three baby steps from the stage.

Jill Biden escorts Joe from the stage following the June 27, 2024, Presidential debate.

Over the next several days, Biden’s supporters freaked out.

  • “Biden is toast — calling it now,” said Democrat activist Jay Surdukowsk.

  • Longtime Obama advisor David Axelrod said, “I think you’re going to hear discussions … whether he should continue.”

  • CNN’s John King spoke about the spread of “a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party.”

  • Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) told MSNBC, “He had one thing he had to accomplish… and he failed at that tonight.”

At the time, I was astonished that anybody could have been even a little surprised. Hadn’t they been paying attention?

Joe had left us all a long trail of breadcrumbs that indicated he’d reached vegetable status years before debate night.

Biden in Iowa Says 'Poor Kids' Are Just as Smart as 'White Kids' - Bloomberg

As early as August 2019, while campaigning in Iowa, Joe asserted that “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”

Oops.

During a May 2021 FEMA briefing, commenting on how supposed climate change increases the frequency and severity of hurricanes, he assured his audience, “We’re going to increase the number and intensity of the hurricanes.”

7 key takeaways from Biden's 2022 State of the Union speech | PBS News

In March 2022, during his State of the Union address, he confused Ukrainians with Iranians, in spite of the two teleprompters in front of him.

"Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks,” he said, “But he'll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people."

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