What is Jill Biden thinking?
Jill Biden affirmed her husband’s capability to serve a second term as president despite recent public incidents involving the 81-year-old president. During a Juneteenth event, Joe Biden appeared to freeze momentarily, and he was also seen straying from G7 leaders at a recent summit in Italy.
Speaking to a group of seniors in Reno, Nevada, Jill Biden emphasized the importance of leadership qualities in the upcoming election. “We must not wake up on November 6 like we did in 2016, fearful of what’s ahead,” she stated. Jill stressed that this election is fundamentally about the character of the nation’s leader.
In Nevada, where around 600,000 seniors constitute nearly one-third of the 1.9 million eligible voters, recent polls indicate that former President Donald Trump, aged 78, holds a five-point lead over Joe Biden, who secured the state in the 2020 election.
Jill Biden, having returned from Europe to attend her son Hunter Biden’s trial earlier in the week, began the “Seniors for Biden-Harris” tour with stops in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota. The campaign aims to engage older voters through events like bingo, pickleball, rallies, and phone banks to garner support for Joe Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a potential second term.
“Joe Biden is a healthy, experienced 81-year-old, ready to work every day to improve our future,” Jill Biden, 73, reassured the audience in Reno, reiterating similar sentiments from her speech in Duluth. She remarked that Joe Biden’s effectiveness as a president is not despite his age, but because of it.
Actress and activist Jane Fonda, 86, introduced Jill Biden in Nevada, expressing strong opposition to Trump. Fonda described Trump as a “convicted felon” unfit for a security clearance and warned against his re-election. Known for her controversial stance during the Vietnam War, Fonda expressed concerns about Nevada’s exposure to extreme heat and lack of solar panels, predicting dire consequences for outdoor workers.
Fonda also accused Trump of conspiring with oil executives to dismantle environmental regulations for financial gain, though she provided no evidence for her claims. Despite the enthusiasm in Reno, not all senior groups are supportive of Biden’s re-election.
Rebecca Weber, CEO of the conservative-leaning Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), expressed concerns over President Biden’s public appearances. She argued that subjecting him to high-pressure situations, which highlight his vulnerabilities, could be considered elder abuse. Weber emphasized that effective leadership depends on mental acuity, experience, and judgment, crucial traits for the president to navigate the office’s complexities.