Biden’s teleprompter reveal
It’s not news that Joe Biden almost certainly uses a teleprompter or copious notes for even the most softball of interviews – and for him, the MSM obliges by making practically all of them softball. Despite the fact that he’s rarely challenged by the press, he seems to be reading a significant amount of the time. It is likely that the questions are either given him ahead of the interview, or someone is keyboarding into a device that feeds him the answers in real time.
The other day what looked like a teleprompter was revealed in a reflection in a large framed photo with a glass covering that Biden held up during an interview. This was discussed by pundits on the right. But so far I can’t find any coverage in the MSM – not even a refutation of the charges that it happened. If you can find something please let me know, but it seems that the MSM is simply ignoring it, in a continuation of its “Emperor’s New Clothes” policy of Biden coverage.
If you had been told twenty or thirty years ago that a major party, the Democrats, had nominated a near-78-year-old who showed strong signs of cognitive decline, so much so that he could not speak extemporaneously in a coherent manner, and that not only was that party covering up that fact but virtually the entire press corps was complicit, you might not have believed it could happen. And yet here we are.
Yes, in the past the press covered up for the extent of FDR’s disability during his administration. But that was a physical disability – and an already-known and acknowledged one, just not the full extent of it. Whether FDR could walk did not affect his functioning as president one iota. Similarly, when Wilson was incapacitated and his wife had to take over for quite a while, the press covered that up, too. But at least Wilson was a president already in office at that time, and they didn’t want to alarm the public. There have been other instances of press silence, too – for example, about JFK’s sex life.
But this is different. Joe Biden is a candidate. We are about to have an election. He’s not in office at all. And his mental acuity (or lack of it) is one of the most salient characteristics of his about which the voters need to be informed. If he is going to be a mostly-empty vessel with other unspecified people providing the content, we all need to know. And yet the press is aiding and abetting the deception of the American public on that score.
Of course, we know why. Biden is the hand they’ve been dealt, and they’ll do whatever they believe it takes to defeat the hated, despised, and feared Trump. There’s nothing secret about that.
[NOTE: When I was a child I used to play canasta with my grandmother. At a certain point I realized that I could see her cards in the reflection in her glasses. I cheated for a bit, and then I confessed and suggested that she hold her cards differently in the future.]
[ADDENDUM: By the way, that interview occurred in April. So this isn’t just some recent innovation of Biden’s. He was being interviewed from his home, of course, where he is free to set up nearly any way he wants. Who’s going to check? I wonder whether that’s the plan for the debates – he’ll be in his home and will be using one or many prompts and aids (as well as aides) to answer questions.]
The old chap is a miracle of both the taxidermist’s and the ventriloquist’s art.
When you don’t know what state or city you are in, it is wise to stay put in your comfy basement.
Some people are claiming Biden has Alzheimer’s. Dementia wouldn’t surprise me. My mother died at age 102 and as she aged she lost her memory. The last few years I don’t believe she recognized me or my sister.
But that was a physical disability – and an already-known and acknowledged one, just not the full extent of it. Whether FDR could walk did not affect his functioning as president one iota. Similarly, when Wilson was incapacitated and his wife had to take over for quite a while, the press covered that up, too.
I seem to recall it was around 1982 that you would see in magazine literature contentions that FDR’s disability was concealed by the press. I don’t think you could do a survey of the contemporary media and substantiate that contention. My mother, who was a little girl living outside of Newark NJ and Washington DC at the time, knew perfectly well he was in a wheelchair and discussed it in later years while she was putting coins in the March of Dimes box at the shoe store. (See Ron Nessen’s crack about Jimmy Carter’s 1976 campaign kick-off, “He did everything to invoke the founder of the New Deal coalition but roll out in a wheelchair with a cigarette in a long holder”).
As for Wilson, his wife and his doctor kept everyone away from him. The press didn’t get a chance to conceal much on its own because only those two and a scatter of domestic servants knew precisely what was the matter with him.
Remember all the lefty hoopla about a picture showing Bush’s back when he stood at a podium, and the claim was that he was wearing a wire to an earpiece to feed him responses?
Not sure that’s a TelePrompTer. It is a device that carries or reflects images.
Musk brought out NeuraLink a couple of months back. Coincidence??
Art Deco:
The claim is that part of it functions as a teleprompter, the part that has the text on it (I think it’s in the upper right quarter of the screen). I’m not familiar with how such things work. But I think it may be revealing that I’ve not seen anyone on the Biden side (and that includes most of the MSM) try to refute the claim or even deal with it in any way.
Art Deco:
That’s why I said it was the extent of FDR’s disability that was covered up, not the disability itself. My mother, who was an adult at the time FDR was president, told me that everyone knew he usually used a wheelchair but that the public was unaware (although the press was aware) that he could not walk at all – or even stand, except with braces and being held up by a strong person on either side. She said that the press never showed him being carried, which sometimes happened.
See this, for example.
There was a clip I saw from CNN yesterday, which I think was already several days old by then, in which Biden was talking to some interviewer or other. There was social distancing and the interviewer had notes on blue paper and would occasionally whip out reading glasses to read some choice quotes from the Woodward interview. It almost looked like the interview was being held in a garage because there was something in the background like a garage door with a few flags lined up in front of it. But I didn’t see, at that point, evidence of a teleprompter facing Biden. Is it possible that he doesn’t use it on all conceivable occasions?
Philip Sells:
Yes, I don’t think anyone thinks he always uses it. But when he doesn’t use it, he appears to read a lot from notes. He’s very often looking down and seeming to be reading something in his lap or somewhere in the vicinity.
At this point in time, I think people should realize that if they vote for Biden, there will be a hidden government running the country. It will be the wife, the cabinet, or someone else. The question will be if they let Biden remain in power, and therefore maintaining their power, instead of invoking the 25th amendment, with the VP assuming power.
I’m not seeing Harris being mentioned as campaigning and I wonder why? Do they want people remembering the past images of Biden? Are they afraid of Harris disclosing too much? Or is it something else?
Well, the debates should be fascinating; if they occur. My money is on “no”. Not sure how they will spin it.
A bit off topic; but I find it a bit bizarre that the media and the Left make such an issue of Trump’s hair and skin tone. I am surprised that the Biden people would want to call attention to appearance, given his plastic face, hair transplants, and manufactured teeth. We have no idea what the actual Joe Biden would look like. In fact, can we really be sure that it is the real Joe Biden and not some elaborate ruse? Asking for a friend.
Liz:
I think it’s because they realize that Harris is as awful as Biden, albeit in a very different way. Also, if she were to appear a lot and he hardly at all, the contrast would be too great.
FWIW, my great-aunt (who was in her early 20s in 1940) told me once that a friend of hers who saw FDR being carried told her “the President can’t stand up”, to which my great-aunt said “You’re crazy”. So the extent of the disability was unknown to her at any rate.
In the 1930s while FDR was governor of New York, his political opponents spread rumors that his paralysis was due to syphilis and not polio. I don’t know how public that accusation was.
According to Albert Speer in “Inside the Third Reich” Hitler also believed this rumor. It seems the fact of FDR’s paralysis had some kind of public currency, but the full extent may not have been made public.
I think it is more likely that it was something that the general public knew, and there was a wide social consensus that it was not a matter to comment on, that it was not “fit to print” so to speak. I don’t think it’s plausible the media kept it secret.
I found some other nuggets:
In preparation for his first presidential campaign, Roosevelt addressed the subject head on. In 1931, Liberty magazine ran a story titled “Is Franklin D. Roosevelt Physically Fit to Be President?” “The next President of the United States may be a cripple,” the piece began; Roosevelt was remarkably candid and submitted to examination by three physicians. The not entirely straightforward conclusion: “Governor Roosevelt is confident of ultimate total recovery…”
… Time and The New Yorker both casually mentioned FDR using a wheelchair in 1934, as did a 1941 Life profile. Yet even his political adversaries—and Henry Luce was no fan—didn’t harp on Roosevelt’s disability, though Luce managed to publish a rare photo of him in a wheelchair in 1937. More remarkably, Roosevelt’s overseas enemies rarely attempted to exploit his disability. Mussolini did once splutter, “Never in the course of history has a nation been guided by a paralytic,” and a German propagandist called FDR “a physically broken person who is constantly venting his hysteria,” but honestly you’d figure they’d have made more of it.
your so called press is an empty vessel for satans.
Neo, Liz, the Dems have nominated two candidates who did very poorly in their own primaries, until their elite stepped in to avoid a Sanders win. I wonder if they regret that now; Bernie would have been a vigorous campaigner.
Frederick:
As I wrote, the media did not keep his paralysis a secret. They kept the extent of it a secret. Few people seemed to know he could not take any steps at all and could not even stand, although they knew he had polio, that his legs were weak, and that he often used a wheelchair.
@neo:As I wrote,
Yes, you wrote that. A lot of people still have the wrong impression, and write otherwise. Some examples compiled here.
One of the things I have always enjoyed about coming here is how carefully you think about what you read, and how you write so precisely about it. When it came to, say, Roy Moore, you were head and shoulders above everyone else I was reading then about what kind of evidence there actually was versus what kind of evidence we were being told there was…
“…should realize that if they vote for Biden, there will be a hidden government running the country….”
Well, in normal times, people probably would care, but since THE GOAL here is to get rid of Trump, they couldn’t care less. In fact, they’re all for it…as long as it works.
(And it’s bound to work, right? I mean arson, threats, extortion and intimidation never fail…if you’re a Democratic Party strategist…)
In fact, they’d be just as likely to vote for a dead parrot.
If there were any justice, they’d all be put in the slammer for elderly abuse (and abuse of quite a few other things as well, Truth being the first item on the list). On the other hand, all they’d probably have to do to get the charges thrown out is wipe their smartphones….
Frederick:
Thanks!
Roy Moore – now, that’s a stroll down memory lane. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the same people who pronounced Moore guilty, guilty, guilty swept the accusations against Biden under the rug. I have no idea whether Biden is guilty or not, but on the face of it the accusations against him are more “credible” (favorite word of the Democrats) than those against Moore.
Moore has filed a bunch of defamation lawsuits, by the way. Because he’s a public figure, I doubt he’ll win. And one of his accusers is suing him – for defamation. Luckily, he’s no longer a Republican candidate for office.
Joe’s decline has been known for some time by his *wife* and inner circle. It is astounding to me that they allowed him to run for president and think that he can win.
@neo:Roy Moore – now, that’s a stroll down memory lane.
The tactic was to be repeated against Kavanaugh. But I think the primary reason it didn’t work on Kavanaugh was because he was a DC insider, and Moore was not. Lots of people on the Right hated Roy Moore, probably because he made the Right look bad… the Right wouldn;t fight for Moore, and they did fight for Kavanaugh.
As for Biden, well the media fights for him, and the Right has scruples; the Right seems focused on the double standard.
Frederick:
Exactly. It all depends on who the accused is, not the strength of the charges against him. I know many people who will not hesitate to vote for Biden and yet who believe Kavanaugh is a vile rapist.
The candidacy of Biden and Harris for pres and VP tells you everything you need to know what the demokrat leaders think of the American citizenry,.
They nominate a senile old man and a whore; and these two are supposed to be what the world is supposed to consider the leaders of the free world.
Honestly, if kamala harris had been a prostitute I would have least given her credit for being a small business owner.
But no, she spread her legs for the political powerful so she could F herself to the top of the political ladder in the best tradition of Evita Peron.
Biden has a 40 year perfect record of zero accomplishments; and that record was established when he had his wits about him.
What I don’t understand is how is wife is actively supporting his presidential ambitions despite his lack of mental acuity. Perhaps she sees herself as the next Mrs. Woodrow Wilson; the un-elected president of the USA at least for a few years.
Her adult children have already prepared their financial need plans for submittal to the US Treasury; they will no longer have to pretend they are business consultants to Chinese, or really any, business enterprises. They can just overtly take the cash.
If Biden wins , Russia, Maduro, Castro, et. al. are waiting to pop their champagne bottles. China is ordering up extra production of Wuhan Bat Soup .
Rest assured, a Biden win will unleash the most ambitious actions -of the military sort – of China, Russia and Iran.
Castro will double his efforts in Venezuela and Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras will once release by the tens of thousands all their denizens that wish to leave those hell holes for the USA (just more votes for AOC ! and the demokrat dictatorship of California. ). After all, free medical care, a drivers license and all the benefits of citizenship – plus welfare and food stamps – await them as soon as they set foot across the Rio Grande.
When a nation self destructs – think Venezuela in 1999, Germany in 1914, Cuba in 1959, Russia in 1917 – there simply is no way to predict when or how or if that nation will resurrect itself. And if the Obama presidency is any guide – and it will be !! – rest assured the heel of the govt. will be placed upon all “enemies of the state,” the Bill of Rights notwithstanding.
The Federal govt can bankrupt anybody it chooses into oblivion or jail and indict anybody and everybody it wishes at no cost to the govt. bureaucrats.
May God have mercy on the USA.
But I think the primary reason it didn’t work on Kavanaugh was because he was a DC insider,
Different audience. They could manufacture enough smoke in Alabama to pick off swing voters. Didn’t work with the Senate Republicans, apart from Flake and Murkowski, who had their own reasons for stirring up trouble.
NB, the DNC extensions at Bezos and Sulzberger had the manpower to locate a woman who’d had three dates with Roy Moore 40 years previous, and enough cash was provided by some party to induce two other women to make claims about him (one supplemented with a manifestly forged yearbook entry). Right in the same burg where the Bezos minions work, they couldn’t locate a single person who could attest that Christine Blasey had ever met Brett Kavanaugh or Mark Judge. Michael Avenatti’s effort to peddle Julia Swetnick foundered as her yarn-pulling was just too blatant and lurid (aside from the fact there was no reason to believe she’d ever met Kavanaugh or Judge). The problem they had with Kavanaugh is that the man really is cleaner than a hound’s tooth; in re Moore, they capitalized on the disjunction between what was apposite in small-town Alabama in 1979 and what the karenwaffe fancy today.
My biggest surprise was that the Democrats allowed that video to be seen by the public. Was it a “live” interview that they couldn’t edit?
Of course, anyone else in the room (there is at the least both camera and sound operators) would have known about the teleprompter, but could be depended upon not to break the code of silence (as with FDR and Wilson).
Democrats only leak if it hurts Republicans.
“I think people should realize that if they vote for Biden, there will be a hidden government running the country.”
They should indeed… What I don’t get is why they think they’re so virtuous for voting for a puppet. What is so righteous or principled about voting for someone you don’t actually want in office?
“Honestly, if kamala Harris had been a prostitute I would have at least given her credit for being a small business owner.” I am going to steal that line.
I’m looking forward to the debate between high heels Harris and straight laced Pence. That should be fun.
Victor Hanson, as usual, covers all the Biden problems with flair.
https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/13/biden-the-great-and-powerful/
“For now Biden’s best hope is that some Emerald City media lackey does not play the role of the tiny dog Toto, rip away the curtain, and reveal the tiny man and his machinery behind the projection.”
Barry Meislin,
What about a parrot pining for the fjords?
Frederick @ 5:07: Emphatic ditto to your praise for Neo’s thoughtful exploration of issues. It encourages others to exercise similar care, and IMHO leads, usually, to a virtuous circle where people try to get the facts right, dig a little deeper for nuance and test the evidence without losing their tempers. So, Neo, thanks for hosting such an excellent virtual “salon.” It is in no way disengaged from the issues of the day, but it is a place where we can quiet our minds, gather our best thoughts, and then return to the fray.
You can say that again…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_V6y1ZCg_8
And for those who are achingly pining…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWSl-XQwzZA
As far as such debates as we might see go, and checking whether the Biden marionette will be using visual or aural tools to help him out, there’s a certain parallel in the chess world. For a number of years now there have been online tournaments. Obviously in the time of Everybody’s Favorite Pathogen, I think they’re basically all being held online (haven’t been following chess news as closely as I used to, being on my sabbatical and all). But I was thinking in particular of the US Chess League having its semi-pro team matches online for several years already, because as you might expect, it doesn’t make a great deal of economic sense for chess teams to do all that traveling in this country. (In Europe, they do so more routinely because there’s sponsorship and stuff – the Bundesliga, for example.)
I bring it up because each site at which the respective teams gather in person has proctors that mind the store for any cheating. Thus, maybe something similar could be done for these upcoming ‘debates’.
I noticed Biden’s mental decline 9 months ago. I have no medical background but unfortunately I’ve been spent some time around Alzheimer’s and dementia. If he win in November who will actually be running things in the White House?
The Democrats want Harris as President, and getting Biden-Harris elected might work to do that.
Glenn R./ Instapundit is calling it “elder abuse”. I think it is, and the Dems should be laughed at about it.
Art Deco often has excellent statistics and comments (sometimes less nice comments):
“The problem they had with Kavanaugh is that the man really is cleaner than a hound’s tooth;”
Not only clean, but with a notebook of where he went almost every day. One of the Habits of Highly Effective People is to keep a journal. His showed no meeting with the deluded (lying?) Ford. [I think blogging daily is kind of like that. I don’t. Neither blog nor journal. I’m not so effective. ]
I wish he had sued her for defamation and false accusation.
Kavanaugh Derangement Syndrome was real during the hearings – like Trump, Bush, and Palin Derangement Syndromes. All are part of Democrat Derangement Syndrome – because so many Dems are derangement about their opposition to people.
Biden’s terrible.
But he could win.
The fact that he could win is so sad.
Althouse is good to read on her highlighting notes & comments about how, exactly, the Dems are hating on Trump this week.
I was NeverHillary. I would have voted for dementia touched Biden over Hillary. NeverTrumpers and Trump haters, including Scientific American, have little trouble voting Biden AGAINST Trump.