There is a brand-new game: decipher the rhetoric of Joe Biden, former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
American politics has never had a top politician who (apparently suffering from dementia) makes such wandering, incoherent, garbled comments. The game he has inspired has two simple rules: (1) prune the gibberish and (2) add what is needed to make sense.
 Joe Biden at the New York Times, Dec. 16, 2019. |
Here is an example on an important topic, taken from a long interview with New York Times editors on December 16, 2019. Speaking about Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Biden said:
He has to pay a price for whether or not we're going to continue to sell certain weapons to him. In fact, if he has the air defense system that they're flying F-15s through to see how they can try to figure out how to do it.
Come again? Sure, read a second and even a third time. I'll wait. A bit murky, no? But with the magic of the above two rules, it does make sense. I dropped the fluff and added the implicit bits (in square brackets), resulting in an intelligible new version:
He has to pay a price for [acquiring Russia's S-400 missile system and we must decide] whether or not we're going to continue to sell certain weapons[, in particular, our most advanced F-35 aircraft,] to him. In fact, if he has the [S-400] air defense system that [the Turks are] flying F-15s through to [test how well it works, we must not sell F-35s to Turkey].
Condensed: Erdoğan purchased the S-400, so we must not sell him F-35s.
Applying this methodology to Biden's entire statement on Turkey in the NYT interview, it emerges that Biden:
- Claims he can influence Erdoğan, who much appreciates Biden;
- Considers Erdoğan an "autocrat";
- Demands he treat Kurds better;
- Hopes to embolden the parliamentary opposition to remove him from office;
- Urges allies to isolate Ankara for its illegal gas and oil drilling in the Mediterranean Sea; and
- Has "concern" about U.S. access to the Incirlik air base and other military facilities.
 The first woman president? Edith Wilson with Woodrow. |
Whatever the impetus, should Biden win in November, let us hope he has sufficient influence on his own administration to implement this sound policy. Let us also hope that his advisors (will Jill Biden be the new Edith Wilson?) manage to decipher Bidenese into English.
Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum. © 2020 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved.
Aug. 15, 2020 update: Biden's remarks have been available for eight months but only now have they caused a stir in Turkey, especially the bit about Erdoğan being an autocrat, prompting even an indirect reply from Erdoğan. It's generally thought that the government has chosen to make an issue of this as a way to bolster its popularity.
July 21 2021 update: For the most part, Biden has spoken much more lucidly than in the above bit of fogginess. But he does sometimes descend back into utter obscurity. Here's his reply to a question about vaccinating children under 12 years:
They're trying to figure out whether or not there's a vaccination that would affect one child at such and such an age and not another child. That's underway. Just like the other question that's logical and I've heard you speak about it, because you all—I'm not being solicitous, but you're always straight up about what you're doing.
And the question is whether or not we should be in a position where you are—why can't the experts say we know that this virus is, in fact—is going to be—or, excuse me—we know why all the drugs approved are not temporarily approved, but permanently approved. That's underway, too. I expect that to occur quickly."
Sep. 11, 2021 update: Biden descended into a miasma of incoherence today, discussing the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Some excerpts from the official transcript at the White House website:
I've been thinking of all the people I was — when I was down at the rock, talking to a number of family members who lost somebody. You know, think about it — talk about genuine heroism. I'm not talking about any — I'm not talking about the news media now. ...
I think the real issue for those kids that — just had a picture taken with — couple of them had Trump hats from last year — I think, for them, it's going to be: Are we going to, in the next 4, 5, 6, 10 years, demonstrate that democracies can work, or not? Because I had — just had a long — I'm not going to discuss with you now, but I had a long conversation with President Xi for over an hour and a half — not last night; the night before last. And I've had that one-on-one summit with Putin. And I've spoken with others. ...
And so it's all tied. And meeting with these people — you know, I know you're all tired of hearing me say, you know — a lot of good folks on Wall Street, but they didn't build the country. Hardworking middle-class folks built this country, and the unions built the middle class. It's about time we start showing them some real respect again. ...
So I think it's just a matter of showing — showing that what I'm saying, when it works, letting it — be clear how it works, and when it doesn't work, say I'm going to change that. But I think people are just looking for, I hope — we'll find out — just some straight talk: what should be done, what you believe to be done.
And I've been doing this long enough. There's, you know — again, I apologize. For somebody who's covered me a long time, like you, you've heard me say some of this before, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I told you the story about when I won as a 29-year-old kid. Everybody said, "Well, what's the secret? What's the secret? Had to be some special secret. How the hell could I win?" (Laughs.) You know, straight up. I had to find something. And I said the secret is figuring out what's worth losing over (inaudible). What are you willing to lose over? That's your belief. If you can't figure that one out, you shouldn't run. You shouldn't do it.
And so the things that I'm pushing, I believe. I believe. Now, I'm not — it doesn't mean I'm — you know, everybody has to agree I'm right. I mean — but I'm just laying out what I think has to be done to bring this country back. ...
[Serious Republicans] get it too. They may not agree with everything I say, but this idea that, you know, "What do you want to do with Biden?" "I want to box him." I mean — you know. I should be so lucky. You know what I mean? But it is — the kinds of things — or, you know, the stuff that's coming out of Florida, the stuff that's coming out of — you know, "If Robert E. Lee had been in Afghanistan, we would have won." Anyway, I'm telling you too much.
But the point is, what I'm thinking about today is what these people who — and I've got a piece of — a small piece of one of the beams they have — they gave me last time — or not last time, but how many times ago — and the flag they gave me. And I'm thinking of, you know, what — what — of the people who died, what would they be thinking? They think it makes sense for us to be in this kind of thing, where you ride down the street and someone has a sign saying "F so and so"? Or — it's not who we are.
June 27, 2024 update: Biden's disastrous, incoherent debate with Donald Trump has finally alerted the world to what I argued four years ago, above: "American politics has never had a top politician who (apparently suffering from dementia) makes such wandering, incoherent, garbled comments."
July 5, 2024 update: According to an anonymous White House source, "It's unclear even to some inside the West Wing policy process which policy issues reach the president, and how. Major decisions go into an opaque circle that includes White House chief of staff, Jeff Zients (who talks to the president regularly) and return concluded. (The big exception to this pattern, they said, is foreign policy.)"
