The Only Cognitive Test Biden Needs to Take: Debate Trump

Joe Biden Debate Trump

Joe Biden’s cognitive ability and mental state are once again front and center as the status of the Presidential debates have come into question.

In what can only be described as one of the former Vice President’s most bizarre and rambling interviews ever (and that’s a hell of a high bar), Biden put the issue on full display:

Former Vice President Joe Biden balked at the idea of taking a cognitive test and revealed that he has not taken one, following ongoing charges against his mental acuity from President Donald Trump and his allies.

“No, I haven’t taken a test,” Biden said during a panel interview hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists, to be aired in full on Thursday…

“Come on, man,” he said. “That’s like saying you, before you got on this program, you take a test where you’re taking cocaine or not. What do you think? Huh? Are you a junkie?”

RELATED: Trump Says First Presidential Debate Should Happen Earlier Due to Main-In Voting

Did Biden Lie About Being Tested?

This Biden response was quite different than the first time the former VP was asked about the issue:

At a news conference in June, when Fox News’ Doug McKelway asked if he’d been tested for his mental acuity, Biden responded that he’s “been tested and I’m constantly tested.”

The good news for Joe Biden is that there is only one cognitive test that he needs to take: a debate against Donald Trump.

If Biden wants to put an end to the speculation about whether or not he is mentally fit for the job of President, he should stand on a stage with President Trump and go toe-to-toe with the Commander-in-Chief on all of the issues facing the country.

Joe Biden can’t hide in his basement forever. He must prove to the American people that he is up to the task. It is clear that the media will not make Biden answer any of the difficult questions.

It is clear that they won’t hold Biden accountable for his constant missteps, mistakes, and misremembering. Hell, even Hillary Clinton was occasionally asked tough questions. Uncle Joe gets nothing but softballs from the media – and he whiffs on those half the time.

Biden’s Free Pass Not Enough

Still, for the Biden campaign, a debate is the absolute last thing they want.

Biden supporters can count on the media to only treat Joe with kid gloves. They know that a series of debates with President Trump will see Trump landing haymaker after haymaker on their candidate.

This is precisely why high-profile Biden supporters, like Joe Lockhart, Bill Kristol, and Thomas Friedman have all advocated that Biden skip the debates altogether.

The Trump campaign, recognizing the desperate political catch-22 that Biden and his campaign are in – caught between a need to debate and the knowledge that it would end in utter humiliation for the former VP – have smartly leaned into the issue.

Trump Amplifies Need for Debates

This week, the Trump campaign urged the addition of a fourth debate in early September:

President Trump’s re-election campaign is formally asking that a fourth debate between the president and Democratic challenger Joe Biden be added and that the showdown be held early next month, before many states start sending out absentee ballots to voters.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), the Trump campaign urged that if a fourth showdown can’t be added, then the date of the first debate – scheduled for Sept. 29 – be moved up to the first week of September.

So far, the Biden campaign has resisted efforts to add an additional debate, but at the same time has attempted to assure voters and the media that Biden will actually show up for the three already scheduled.

Only time will tell if Biden’s campaign will actually roll the dice and let Biden stand on stage with President Trump for a series of debates. One thing we absolutely do know, under no circumstances should any individual even be considered for the office of President if they aren’t willing to go face-to-face with their opponent.

As a Trump supporter, I urge Joe Biden to take this singularly important cognitive test, the only test that matters, and debate our President.

Watch my interview with Brett Smith about the need for Biden to debate:

is President of Right Turn Strategies. He is a contributor to The Hill, and a regular on the Kennedy... More about Christopher Barron

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