Joe Biden ‘sharp and commanding’ but has ‘diminished energy,’ Chris Coons says

Senator Chris Coons (Delaware), co-chair of the Biden campaign, acknowledged in an interview that Biden, now 81, has “less energy” than he did in his younger years, but argued that the president has not shown “mental weakness” and remains “sharp and dignified.”

Coons, in an interview on Politico’s podcast “Playbook Deep Dive,” said he was tired of the media’s relentless focus on Biden’s gaffes and speculation about whether he has experienced cognitive decline since winning the 2020 election.

“Obviously Joe Biden is over 80 and, like anybody over 80, his energy is declining a little bit,” he acknowledged.

But he said the media should pay more attention to the “huge gulf” in character, morality and competence between Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Coons argued that Biden has a “lifelong stutter” that affects him at times but that it is not a sign of mental confusion.

“I think what’s been highlighted in some of the footage that I’ve seen in other media outlets and which is, in my view, offensive, is not evidence of mental weakness but evidence of a lifelong stutter, or the result of an incredibly demanding schedule and 50 years in public service,” he said.

“I am being honest when I say he is intelligent, he has leadership skills and I have no concerns about his intelligence,” he said.

Coons noted that both Biden and Trump “misidentified who they spoke to and met with” in recent public appearances, but said public officials who speak frequently to the media, travel regularly and work long hours “are likely to make similar gaffes.”

“I’m a little tired of the relentless focus on President Biden’s very minor gaffes that I see made all the time by public officials my age, and frankly public officials my age,” the 60-year-old said.

Biden is 81 years old and Trump turns 78 next week.

Trump was recently convicted in Manhattan of 34 felony counts of falsifying New York state business records and is set to be sentenced on July 11. He could face up to 20 years in prison, but legal experts expect he will be released while he appeals his conviction.

Trump’s Republican allies have criticized his prosecution as politically motivated.

Coons said the media should spend more time reporting on Trump’s character and the impact it would have on the country if elected, and less time raising questions about Biden’s mental and physical competency.

“The number of times I’ve been interviewed about, ‘Is Joe Biden the same person he is at 60?’ has far outnumbered the number of times I’ve been asked, ‘In light of what Donald Trump said today, do you worry about the future of our democracy?'” he said.