Since the president’s disaster debate, members of the Washington press corps, and the bed-wetting congressional Democrats who care about journalists’ opinions of them, have manufactured a new bar by which they will judge whether Joe Biden is mentally fit to be reelected.

This standard calls on Biden to show “a plan” for victory. He must provide “proof” he can defeat Donald Trump. This threshold took on a new color Thursday morning. According to the Post, skeptics are now demanding “evidence.” If he can’t show “a plan” or demonstrate “proof” or provide “evidence,” Biden should drop out of the running. 

My absolute favorite version of this manufactured standard of excellence centers on the word “test” – as in, if Biden fails the “test,” whatever that “test” may be, he must vacate his party’s nomination. I have seen this word used in this context many times since June 27, but its use peaked this week as the White House prepared to host the NATO summit in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the alliance. 

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Before he’d even finished, they remanufactured their manufactured standard. So it’s no longer enough “to show the depth of his foreign policy knowledge and to demonstrate his command of national security issues,” as Maeve Reston said. It’s not enough to give “coherent thoughts on complex topics, like China’s coercive economic policies and NATO’s collective defense role,” as John Hudson said. It’s not enough to call on 10 reporters to answer 19 questions in an hour.

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That peak also had a peak. It came when the press corps built up anticipation of Biden’s solo press conference, part of the NATO conference. By facing reporters for the first time since the disaster debate, the president, we were told, would face “a crucial test” in the form of an opportunity to demonstrate his “stamina” and “mental acuity,” and prove why he should remain at the top of the Democratic ticket, even as some in his own party are encouraging him to leave. 

Guess what? 

Biden passed. 

According to the Post, he held court for an hour or so on issues “ranging from his physical fitness to global conflicts. Some of his lengthiest answers were on foreign affairs, and he offered detailed responses about US relations with Europe, China and the Middle East.” 

The Post’s Maeve Reston said Biden “was able to show the depth of his foreign policy knowledge and to demonstrate his command of national security issues.” Her colleague, reporter John Hudson, concurred. “Biden offered coherent thoughts on complex topics, like China’s coercive economic policies and NATO’s collective defense role.”

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https://t.co/spndM7TsoI

— The Editorial Board (@johnastoehr) July 12, 2024

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Biden answered questions about his stamina and sharpness by pointing out the fact that people who are half his age, and who were asking him about his stamina and sharpness, were watching him demonstrate his stamina and sharpness in real time. “Biden was at times dismissive and at others self-deprecating,” according to the Post, “arguing that his performance as president was the best sign of his vigor” (italics mine). 

He added: “If you look at my schedule since I made that stupid mistake at the debate, I mean, my schedule has been full-bore. And where has [Donald] Trump been? Riding around in his golf cart, filling out his scorecard before he hits the ball? Look, he’s done virtually nothing.”

He even acknowledged that he’s been pushing himself too hard. “Instead of my every day starting at 7 and going to bed at midnight, it would be smarter for me to pace myself a little more,” Biden said. “Instead of starting a fundraiser at 9 o’clock, start it at 8 o’clock — people get to go home by 10 o’clock. That’s what I’m talking about.”

Again, Biden passed the test. 

But the people administering the test changed their minds. 

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Indeed, before he’d even finished the test, they remanufactured their manufactured standard. So it’s no longer enough “to show the depth of his foreign policy knowledge and to demonstrate his command of national security issues,” as Maeve Reston said. It’s not enough to give “coherent thoughts on complex topics, like China’s coercive economic policies and NATO’s collective defense role,” as John Hudson said. It’s not enough to call on 10 reporters to answer 19 questions in an hour.

No, he had to be flawless.

Biden made two mistakes. 

So he failed. 

What mistakes? He said “Vice President Trump” when he clearly meant to say Vice President Kamala Harris. I say “clearly,” because the question was about her. His other doozy was calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin.” He immediately ` corrected himself, but that didn’t count. The damage was done.

“With Biden’s ‘Vice President Trump’ mistake … many may have the ammunition they need to make the break,” Maeve Reston said. (Some moderate House Democrats did, including Connecticut’s Jim Himes.)

But even if he’d been flawless, he’d still fail.

The people administering it keep changing the test.

We were told the NATO press conference was Biden’s chance to show the world he’s still got it. Then, when he shows he’s still got it, reporters say showing he’s still got it is unlikely to work. Despite leading a masterclass in international relations, Reston said, “those aren’t usually issues that move voters. A lot of Democrats are just ready to move on – and exhausted by the strain of not knowing how this drama is going to play out. … They aren’t looking for the elder statesman anymore – they want someone who can invigorate and excite their party.”

I’m going to leave aside for now the assumption that Democratic voters want to move on from Biden, as well as the implication that he does not “invigorate and excite the party.” (Hint: lots of Democratic voters are more fired up than they were before the disaster debate.) I’m going to leave these aside for now, because I want to conclude with this point.

Lots of people – and I mean well-meaning, sensible and sane people – have advised Biden as to what he must do to demonstrate, post-debate, that he still has what it takes to defeat Donald Trump, the Republican Party and the authoritarian drift overtaking this country. They have said repeatedly he should do more town halls, more and longer interviews with the Times and so on, and otherwise get out in front of the press corps, expose himself, malapropisms, gaffes, stutters and all.  

There’s something these people are forgetting. The gambit requires trusting a press corps that has repeatedly demonstrated it’s unworthy of that trust. Biden didn’t even get credit for correcting himself when he said “Putin,” instead of “Zelensky.” He did what any of us might have done. Correcting himself should have been seen as a sign that he’s not senile. But he’s being told to play by rules that are only going to hurt him in the end. He shouldn’t do that. Fortunately, I don’t think he is.