@LostInParadise I’m not diagnosing him with any PARTICULAR disorder (I have never met the guy and I certainly lack the medical expertise to do so), however, I don’t think anyone can say with a straight face that there isn’t anything going on neurologically—unless they’ve not seen the clips.
If you look at the clips from 4–8 years ago he was witty, snappy. Biden has said dumb things and made gaffes for decades, that’s not the point. The point is that he sounds very different now than he did then.
Mixing up Vermont and New Hampshire, and Super Tuesday vs. Super Thursday are the kind of mental goofs that young, healthy people make all of the time. That’s a slip-of-the-tongue kind of error and we expect if from people with cameras on them constantly, especially if they’re running around all day campaigning and are fatigued physically and mentally.
Also he makes several ill-advised statements like calling a woman at a townhall a lying dog-faced pony soldier. He called a guy fat and challenged him to do pushups or something like that. He has emphatically told voters to vote for other candidates, etc. Even those gaffes are more-or-less consistent with his previous behavior for decades (perhaps a bit more erratic and less polished).
However there are other mental breakdowns caught on camera that come across in a different way. The recent Declaration of Independence flub, came out slurred and confused, not like someone simply misspoke. His references to Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping make it seem like he’s having issues with memory and time. Biden’s bizarre narrative about kids playing with his leg hair, roaches, and kids sitting on his lap was barely coherent. His record player answer and his inability to correctly name his website in the debates was concerning—he sounded truly impaired. Can you watch this compilation of clips and honestly say that you don’t think he’s having issues with his cognition?