The White House is faced with a huge conundrum. Do they let the President out of the house and let him speak and answer questions or keep him under wraps. If they muzzle the President, he faces criticism and increased speculation about his health and mental acuity. If they take off the reins and take their chances, he inevitably says something that requires a clean-up in aisle 5. Aisle five is the shiniest in the store; it has been cleaned so often.
That may be an attempt at humor in the first paragraph, but that is to temper the seriousness of the situation. The real question is, who is in charge in today’s White House? Who is so powerful in the White House staff that has the authority to edit the President’s actual words into what he really should have said? If the President says something, shouldn’t that be the official statement of the Executive Branch? The answer is obviously yes, but not in the Biden White House.
The latest example was this weekend when a White House pool reporter asked Joe Biden if he was prepared to use the military force of the United States to protect the sovereignty of Taiwan. He emphatically responded yes. He said that if China were to attack Taiwan, as they have threatened to do, we are under agreement to support Taiwan militarily. The White House was so quick to react that they issued a correction before the last period of the President’s statement.
The obvious question is why the person who “corrects” the President insists on remaining anonymous? According to a White House official, who refused to identify himself, the President meant that we would support Taiwan with equipment and arms, similar to how we are supporting Ukraine. The President did not mean we would put U.S. boots on the ground in Taiwan.
China responded as quickly as the White House staffer behind the curtain. They were not pleased with the President’s flippant remarks and went to the airwaves to denounce our President’s words. As the President spoke, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken shifted uncomfortably in his chair and went for his cellphone. I bet if you went to his call history, you would find the number of the anonymous staffer.
It is ironic that the agreement with Taiwan, The Taiwan Relations Act, was signed in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, who has slid into the number 2 President on the Worst Ever List. It is a consensus that Joe Biden now holds the top spot, and with his recent performance, there is little chance of him relinquishing the title.
There is no way that Joe Biden will be on the 2024 ballot. He is not capable of the rigors of the job today, let alone what his mental capacity will be in two years. It would not be fair to talk about Biden’s age when talking about his ability and readiness for the top job in the country. There are people in their 80s who are sharp as a tack, and then there is Biden. He was not ready in 2020, but his condition was hidden as he was hunkered down in his Delaware basement. His handlers will not be able to use that game plan again.
We are stuck with this puppet President until 2025, along with his keeper behind the curtain. Indeed an embarrassing situation for America, but 81 Million voters created this mess. One thing is for sure. A staffer is permanently assigned to aisle 5 with a mop in hand.
