Conservatives wanted “mental acuity” to be a top 2024 election issue. It’s blowing up in their face
Conservatives wanted “mental acuity” to be a top 2024 election issue. It’s blowing up in their face
"His mind is scrambled eggs...
In what’s looking like one of the most bizarre choices of the 2024 election season, Republicans decided to make “mental acuity” a key issue in the presidential race – despite their likely candidate’s inability to form coherent thoughts anymore.
It’s hard to remember, but just a year ago conservatives’ attempts to paint President Joe Biden as a doddering old fool – and Trump as, at least, fairly competent – were just gaining traction. But that was before the GOP primary season started. It was before Trump was being forced to speak with local and, at times, unfriendly media. It was before more Americans were paying all that much attention to any of the campaigns.
Just last week, an ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that 28% of Americans believed that Biden has the mental sharpness necessary “to serve effectively as president.” 47% said that Trump had it. That is, perceptions of the mental sharpness of both candidates dropped since a similar poll was conducted in May 2023.
Biden, who has a lifelong stutter, has been the subject of numerous videos on social media that exploit the handicap to convince voters he is undergoing “cognitive decline.” While that attack was used in the 2020 election, it has intensified this past year as a result of a ruthless online campaign that used doctored videos to make it look like Biden sleeps during interviews or that he can’t say a single sentence coherently.
That is, someone who has watched terrible TikTok videos about Biden this past year might be genuinely surprised to watch him give a fairly normal speech without passing out 10 seconds into it.
Nikki Haley said she would take a cognitive test along with Trump. Trump keeps bragging about how well he did on one. Jimmy Kimmel has "jokingly" said multiple times that they should get on TV and do it, but I agree seriously. Let's see Trump take a cognitive test. I want to see him identify the whale.
The purpose of those tests isn't even to test any general idea of "acuity". They're meant to monitor cognitive decline. With a good elder care GP, you start getting them regularly at 70.
You don't "ace" them. They aren't IQ tests or any shit like that. They don't measure your mind compared to anyone else's. The "best" result you should ever get is no change from baseline. They're compared to past performance. Anyone claiming to "ace" them just doesn't understand why they even took them.
Given how Trump talks about his cognitive tests, I feel like explaining what the results of the test mean should be on the test
The president is technically the head of the military, make them take the ASVAB.
Outstanding, tacosanonymous! If it weren't such a waste of a fine enlisted man I'd recommend you for OCS! You are gonna be a general someday, tacosanonymous!
"okay, what's in this picture?"
"Rosie O'Donnell"
"Uh, it's a whale. How about this one?"
"Rosie O'Donnell"
"This one is a stick, is that your answer for everything?"
"Rosie O'Donnell"
(And then the trump evolves into a Rosie O'Donnell)
If he will identify mirror as whale he will be correct
Who the fuck has watched or heard trump speak in the last decade and thinks he has any degree of mental sharpness
Letting my phones predictive text would sound more coherent than that clown.
Fellow idiots.
A bit less than half the US. Keep in mind those people are also dumber than shit.
People who spend their *whole lives hating people that are different from them.
EDIT: autocorrected "whole" to "white". But that's not really wrong, is it?
That's a deceitful headline. The text says only 28% believe Biden is mentally capable, but 47% think Trump is capable. So it seems like the tactic has worked fine, because a lot more people are trusting Trump than Biden.
For reference, the May 2023 poll had:
Just 32% overall think Biden has the mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president, down steeply from 51% when he was running for president three years ago," ABC's Gary Langer notes.
54% think Trump [...]
AKA both had roughly the exact same 14% relative drop from their numbers a little under a year ago in terms of confidence in their mental acuity.
Isn't the two party system wonderful? WTF. We're supposedly the world superpower and we're heading into deciding which person a majority of the country thinks doesn't have all the marbles to even run it effectively will run it?
Also from the May 2023 poll was that 58% of Democratic leaning adults wanted someone other than Biden to be running.
Quite the representative democracy we have going on here.
Just last week, an ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that 28% of Americans believed that Biden has the mental sharpness necessary “to serve effectively as president.” 47% said that Trump had it.
I guess the propaganda worked.
I would just like octogenarians to be off the presidential ticket, and a normal sane person that wants what most of the nation wants to be president. I swear the presidency has gone into corporate monkey paw mode.
Imo you shouldn't be on the ballot once you've aged past the median life expectancy of the general population, or would do so during your tenure. You want to be president at 82? Fine. But the median life expectancy better be in the 90s.
Nah, it should be held to about 75 perpetually.
Eventually we'll be living to 150, or even become immortal, and I don't want some dude who was born centuries ago running anything.
They need to retire, and let the next generation run things, or we'll never advance.
You could grab a random American off the street and they'd likely be better than either option billion donors have chosen for us.
And we'd probably get far better turnout. Republicans only have a chance of winning when turnout is low.
"Conservatives wanted ________. Now it's blowing up in their face."
Contender for most consistently applicable headline of the last century.
Just last week, an ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that 28% of Americans believed that Biden has the mental sharpness necessary “to serve effectively as president.” 47% said that Trump had it.
OK so it's a winning issue for Trump, in contrast to everything this article says.
I think the polled people are wrong and Biden is proven to have the necessary mental sharpness while Trump if he ever did only proved it 5+ years ago. But the numbers are what they are.
The debates will be hosted at Serenity Springs nursing home and will be sponsored by AARP and Geritol. Complimentary hearing aids and adult diapers will be provided to select audience members and the candidates themselves.
Fannie Mae will be dancing for tips on the main stage pole.
I got rolls of pennies I'd love to enthusiastically donate in the general direction of center mass.
Yeah, I've never gotten the "Biden is too old, let's elect a man four years younger than him" argument. Even if either isn't in mental decline, how's age a good argument in this case?
I already knew this but we aren't gonna see these two debate. Both are old and can't handle the stretch, but the GOP wants to hide that fact about Trump just as much as they want to expose that about Biden.
Donkey Brain Donny 2024!
Do…YOU have a certificate that exonerates you from having donkey brains, Dennis?
"Precedential Immulity!"
Didn't Trump in a speech actually challenge Nikki Haley to one? If I'm her, I'm calling his bluff and demanding that he actually does it. It's the best thing she could possibly do.
Is it though?