‘We are so cooked’: The best memes from Joe Biden’s NATO summit

Joe Biden’s position is only becoming more unstable. Following his disastrous performance against Donald Trump in the first presidential debate two weeks ago, he has faced mounting pressure to stand down amid fears about his electability, his cognitive health and his fitness to govern. People have been sounding the alarm about Biden’s age for years (it has been the number one concern that American voters have about him, and this is only getting worse), but until the debate in June, this was shot down with accusations of ageism, ableism and a treacherous desire to help Trump win. Since then, however, the floodgates have broken. It’s no longer just left-wing commentators or random people on social media raising these concerns, but a significant number of elite liberal pundits; wealthy donors; congressmen and senators, and celebrities – including George Clooney, a long-time ally and supporter. Imagine your friend throwing a party for you and then, just three weeks later, writing an op-ed in the New York Times about how weird you were acting. This nightmare is Biden’s reality now. 

A shaky, doddering and gaffe-filled performance at a NATO event last night – during which he introduced Ukrainian president Zelensky as “Putin” and referred to his running mate Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” – has done little to allay these concerns. But the morning after, commentators are mostly digging in their heels: those who were concerned are still concerned, those who had his back are claiming it as a big success.

While it makes tactical tense, it’s annoying that most people asking for Biden to quit are at the same time insisting that he is a decent and honest man. This is not true. It’s important to remember that Joe Biden is a doddering old fool and a terrible politician who has been on the wrong side of just about every issue in the last 50 years.  Even if you can look past his direct complicity in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians (which you shouldn’t), the man has been a serial liar for long before age began to dull his senses. He had to drop out of first presidential run – in 1987 – after he reportedly plagiarised a speech from then Labour leader Neil Kinnock; he has allegedly lied about being arrested as a teenager while protesting for civil rights activist; he has lied about being arrested while trying to visit anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela; he has lied about opposing the Iraq War; he has lied about his record of opposing school-integration measures during the segregation era. This is not the political record of a decent, honest man. The Democrats can make the case that Trump is worse – an argument which has the benefit of being true – but lying to voters about the president is exactly what got them into this mess in the first place.

Even after all this, Biden probably won’t quit. He has already missed the opportunity to bow out gracefully – we’re long past the possibility of a dignified exit. But on the other hand, the current situation seems untenable. The Democratic party might be happy to disregard their voter base and the electorate at large, but they absolutely do care about the opinions of the New York Times, the billionaire donor class, and George Clooney. This pressure is only intensifying, as is the frenzy of semi-ironic support for Kamala Harris as his replacement. It’s difficult to predict what the situation will look like in a fortnight, but I’m still betting on the most stupid and depressing outcome – which is Biden staying in the race and then losing to Trump. 

 It’s a grim prospect – so why not cheer ourselves up by laughing at some memes?