Joe Biden is too old to travel across the Atlantic twice in a month to visit the UK for the King’s Coronation, it has been claimed.
The Telegraph understands that the US president will reject Buckingham Palace’s invitation to the event on May 6.
Sources have pointed out he is scheduled to visit Northern Ireland for an event later this month, but those close to the President, 80, are also keen to restrict his international movements to avoid him becoming too tired to perform his domestic duties.
Mr Biden is shortly expected to announce his intention to stand again in the 2024 presidential race and is also travelling to the G7 summit in Japan next month.
Now which Republican leaked that?
It could be anything. Republicans mechanically pushing the “too old” premise, democrat handlers rightly worried about him on the largest world stage sans-teleprompter or most likely “I’m Irish” Joe channelling his inner Abe Simpson and refusing to play along with the British. (A long-shot would be his ongoing difficulties with climbing the stairs up to AF1).
It’s a terrible look for a US President in every single scenario. As for sending his wife (thank God it’s not his son) I’d almost prefer the Obama’s who at least have standing, experience and a modicum of dignity.
The one certainty is that an 80 year old should be able to take a 7-8 first class flight in his stride. Anyway, even if he spends a few extra days at home once he’s back who’s going to notice the difference?
Y’know… Spitting Image had Reagan do the Senile Old Man routine with the usual jokes about the Big Red Button mistaken for the Nurse Call.
At least then, everybody with half a brain knew that was satire/propaganda, because while old he was at least sharp enough to crack the nuts in front of him.
Biden… Nope.. Nopenopenope.. Almost as if the Dems saw those skits and went “hold my beer..”
But seriously.. if the Dems let Biden run again, there must be an absolute dearth of people capable of filling the Office in their ranks. With emphasis on “capable”, not vote-pulling on pet peeves.
You never know when Joe is going to shart himself in front of foreign dignitaries, or start yelling the N-word.
Instead of Joe they should send the Hoe: but do they even remember installing Kamala Does Kalifornia as Vice President?
Grikath, Don Henley(like Phil Collins, a greedy bastard – not being content with just being a great drummer he has a great voice too), wrote a song called ‘End of the innocence” back in 1989.
“We’re beating ploughshares into swords for this tired old man we elected king”, referring obviously to Reagan then aged 78. Ironic that it was just before the wall came down.
I guess Democrat supporter Don thinks nothing of the sort about the tired old man man he endorsed for pres. in 2020.
In the absence of an obvious alternative, and remember any half-capable politician will be seen as a potential thread to the string-pullers, there is an Orwellian attraction in saying to the voters “We can literally put anyone or anything in the White House and you can’t stop us”.
By extension this means that far from the 3 co-equal branches set out in the Constitution the country will be run independent of the legislative and with minimal pushback from the judiciary instead governing by Obama’s “phone and a pen“ diktat.
Addolff – Reagan had already retired by 1989 too. Remember Bush I versus Michael Dukakis?
Something strange has happened in the world.
We have to choose between the Lefties and the Loonies and the Yanks have to choose between Soppy Joe and Dickhead Don.
At least with Don, you see they guy who might be making the calls. Soppy Joe? Dunno, could be his embalmer or his diaper changer.
the country will be run independent of the legislative and with minimal pushback from the judiciary instead governing by Obama’s “phone and a pen“ diktat.
The purpose of the judiciary is to act as an anti-democratic backstop in case the electorate somehow manages to get its own representatives into political office.
“Oh you voted for less immigration and no more Net Zero, did you? Too bad that’s ILLEGAL ”
We have a similar system here.
Good!
Why would we want this animatronic colostomy bag here anyway? He might let rip and/or shit himself at an inconvenient moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEsdCRCR5Qc
Or he might think it’s a coronation for him and stand up to take an oath or something.
Steve, they probably do.. Which is why they’re stuck with using the geriatric zombie…
Grikath,
“But seriously.. if the Dems let Biden run again, there must be an absolute dearth of people capable of filling the Office in their ranks. With emphasis on “capable”, not vote-pulling on pet peeves.”
I have a theory that no-one serious wants these jobs. US President used to mean deciding to drop atom bombs on Japan, the cold war, Vietnam. Same in the UK. They had to worry about the country being paralysed by miners, you ran the electric and phones. Now you’re doing Trans Days of Visibility and other such nonsense. The serious men are making sure that Aldi and Amazon operate.
BonM4
I was thinking about this. Not knowing much pre Great War US history, I can’t comment on older presidents, but the work ethic certainlyseems to have dropped off under Clinton, I guess he had other… diversions to keep him occupied. Condi and Rumsfeld seemedto run Bush’s admin and of course Mickey the Moocher was the real president with Obama.
his diaper changer
That’s probably the real reason. Recalling the last coronation it was surprising how long the audience had to spend in the Abbey waiting for things to happen. In which case Joe would probably fill his diaper to overflowing (apart from needing several naps).
I think its more they can’t let him loose on an event where they aren’t in charge. There’s a video doing the rounds where Biden is being led round some event by a handler talking to him all the time as to what he needs to do, where he needs to head, there’s even a mark on the ground for him to stand on to meet the people he’s supposed to be talking to. All the handlers comments have been caught by a hot mike somewhere – its like he’s leading a baby, and Biden is obviously three sheets to the wind.
here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8c5dACf2HM
One “declines” and invitation, not “refuses” one.
Bloody colonials.
Being the sucker he is for media optics, Biden can’t make it look like he’s dissing Harry & Meghan either.
Jim – the 1923 Federal budget was roughly $50 billion in today’s money.
In 2023 they spent $6.5 trillions.
There’s more money than ever in politics – Harry S Truman didn’t somehow earn hundreds of millions of dollars in addition to his modest public sector salary, but Obama, Biden and Blair did.
There’s more power than ever in politics, too. 20th century Western governments might get too grabby with tax and nationalisations, but they didn’t claim the right to micromanage your lifestyle and destroy your economic future in the name of a pseudoscientific eschatological tree cult. They never abolished civil liberty over a flu. They didn’t terrorise their own citizens over “racism”.
It’s not so much that good, responsible people are no longer interested in politics, it’s that the system is designed to weed them out. How many votes has Nigel Farage received over the years? Yet he’s still stuck on the outside of power, looking in, while incompetent and unpopular no-marks like Rishi and the Rat Faced Hunt run the government.
Sorry, BoM4 – that was in reply to yourself, not Jim.
Much like the President of the United States, I have no idea where my glasses are.
Steve,
“There’s more power than ever in politics, too. 20th century Western governments might get too grabby with tax and nationalisations, but they didn’t claim the right to micromanage your lifestyle and destroy your economic future in the name of a pseudoscientific eschatological tree cult. They never abolished civil liberty over a flu. They didn’t terrorise their own citizens over “racism”.”
I think this is a bit rose-tinted. They used to close pubs and cinemas for most of Sunday because of Baby Jesus, ban all sorts of movies, have laws against bumming, and black people had to use the servants entrance to the White House. I’m not sure there’s any more interference, just that it’s moved.
Eco and feminism mostly just replaced Christian interference and the likes of Mary Whitehouse.
I think that maybe serious blokes liked the nationalisations, running the phones and pits, and don’t care that much about recycling and tranny rights. More fun working in tech or manufacturing.
Now which Republican leaked that?
It’s more likely to have come from a Democrat, Timmy.
BoM4 – I’m not sure there’s any more interference, just that it’s moved.
They literally and consciously want you to be too poor to afford meat, electricity or personal transport.
It will probably be a long ceremony that might even put younger people asleep. Is it really worth a long flight if you don’t bundle it with doing something else?
@Steve 11;02
I’d suggest that’s a flawed thesis. At one time, political leaders did have real power. They made decisions that were carried out. These days, political leaders are little more than figureheads. The power really lies with the levels underneath them. And they’re barely in control of that. They make a decision but it’s diluted away in the implementation until little or nothing of it remains.
Good example’s Truss. Under the UK system she had democratic legitimacy. Chosen leader of the majority party. But she wasn’t acceptable to the non-elected Blob that actually runs the country. So she was got rid of & someone installed who’d do what they were told.
Steve,
Our politicians are not serious people. They’re mostly a bunch of upper class people with no experience trying to help, or complete lunatics. But there’s no plan. They just react to whatever noise is going on by announcing things like Net Zero or banning petrol cars by 2035. It gets them a round of applause in the right circles which is what they crave.
You can see this with HS2. Boris got his applause, got to start a thing, now some other poor bastard has to make it happen, and there’s no glory for them. Which is why it’s going to be delivered as the bare minimum, not-even-reaching-London rubbish. And that’s going to be it. No-one is going to build any more high speed after that.
Couldn’t Charles do the decent thing and arrange for it to be transferred to the Hollywood Bowl?
That’s a neat idea Sam
Even better, if KC3 delayed it a few months, it could be the half time entertainment in next year’s Superbowl.
These two trends:
* Divesting decision making power away from elected representatives to the permanent establishment
* Elected officials transmogrifying into a cartel of ridiculous arseholes that exists to manage the proles on behalf of their real employers
Have been going on in tandem because they’re part of the same agenda.
Everything is intensely political these days, from BBC period dramas, to what kind of food you eat, to multi-trillion dollar corporations funding racial attacks on their white customers. Politics is everywhere, and inescapable.
It’s just that Western politics no longer has much to do with public opinion.
It’ll be for the avoidance of bad optics. I expect the coronation, perhaps more than Brenda’s funeral, will have an attendance pecking order based on British royal protocol. So the leader of Botswana gets nearer the front than the leader-of-the-free-world because his country is in the Commonwealth of Nations.
Trump mocked Biden’s 14th row seating at Liz’s do, and I doubt he’d attend the coronation either.
Steve,
“Everything is intensely political these days, from BBC period dramas, to what kind of food you eat, to multi-trillion dollar corporations funding racial attacks on their white customers. Politics is everywhere, and inescapable.”
It’s escapable. I watch almost nothing on the BBC. Apart from the politics it is near 100% garbage TV. Box-ticking comedy that is not funny, drama that is ham-fisted, awful DJs on the radio, programmes that are so fucking tired like Have I Got News For You and Antiques Roadshow.
I never thought I’d see the day when I watched more ITV but it’s true (because I really like The Chase).
As for those sort of brands, I don’t buy them anyway. You’re a chump if you buy Absolut Vodka instead of cheapo Aldi vodka (one of the perks of shopping at Aldi is that they don’t go in for any “community” shit and just sell you food and booze).
jgh: “One “declines” and invitation, not “refuses” one.”
It’s perfectly possible to refuse an invitation.
Options range from not even accepting the invitation letter and let the messenger carry it all the way back, to the classic “send the head of the messenger back with the unopened letter in his mouth”.
It is considered a tad impolite, but it is certainly possible, and has precedence.
The eco shit is perfect for politicians.
Terrify people now. Have policies that need to be implemented within 15 or 20 years – by which time they’ve retired – the outcomes or need for which can’t be judged for 50+ years – by which time they’ll be dead.
You can see this with HS2. Boris got his applause, got to start a thing, now some other poor bastard has to make it happen, and there’s no glory for them. Which is why it’s going to be delivered as the bare minimum, not-even-reaching-London rubbish. And that’s going to be it. No-one is going to build any more high speed after that.
Rishi has just promised it will reach Euston. I’ve got a tenner here says it will never happen – any takers?
I really like The Chase
Shameless name-dropping: Anne (the Governess) Hegerty plays for another pub quiz team in our local league.
1. Wasn’t it the White House that was just touting how amazing it was that he could fly across the Atlantic and work and hardly any people younger than him could do that?
2.Twice in a month is a hardship?
3. On a private luxury jet? With his own bedroom?
Someone on Twitter said that no president of the USA has attended a coronation. Their point fails on the fact that there haven’t been many coronations. Because Eisenhower didn’t attend the queen’s coronation they also say that precedent has been set. Stupid argument.
As I have been quoting J B Morton quite a lot recently one more of his characters can’t do any harm:-
The M’Babwa of M’Gonkawiwi: African chief, who occasions great administrative problems in connection with his invitation to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Why don’t they just send one of the body doubles?