Gone are the days of Dr. Jill insisting that Joe Biden has just as much stamina and energy as a 30 year old.

And this was from this last March!

When asked about the president’s age, the first lady seemed to shrug off concerns.

“Look at what he’s done, you know, look at what he’s doing, look at how physically – he’s got the good bill of health from the doctor to his physicals,” Biden said. “But how many 30-year-olds could travel to Poland, get on the train, go nine more hours, go to Ukraine, meet with President Zelenskyy?”

“His energy level, his level of passion. So look at the man, look at what he’s doing, look what he continues to do each and every day and make your decision. It’s up to the American people,” she added.

Well, the American people are speaking up, and it ain’t pretty for Grandpa Joe. Poll after poll is confirming what Democrats do not want to hear. Joe Biden will be 81 this November. He is not getting any younger. He’s repeating himself in speeches. He constantly looks lost. He has no spring in his step – he shuffles like an elderly old man who is trying not to fall down. And he’s taken some bad falls, on camera. Now, Team Biden is openly acknowledging that they have to work to keep Joe upright, because if he falls down again, it could be game over.

As voters express deep concerns about the 80-year-old president’s age and fitness for office, Biden’s team is taking extra steps to prevent him from stumbling in public — as he did in June, when he tripped over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy.

With a physical therapist, Biden has been doing exercises to improve his balance as far back as November 2021.

Since his stumble in June, he has been wearing tennis shoes more often to avoid slipping — and using the short stairs on Air Force One, entering the plane on a lower deck than before.

Democrats, including some in the administration, are terrified that Biden will have a bad fall — with a nightmare scenario of it happening in the weeks before the November 2024 election.

Biden’s balance difficulties are likely the result of what his physician has diagnosed as “a combination of significant spinal arthritis” and “mild post-fracture foot arthritis.”

Biden works out many mornings with physical therapist Drew Contreras, who also worked with former President Obama.

Biden’s doctor has recommended exercises for balance, which he called “proprioceptive maintenance maneuvers.”

What the maneuvers entail is unclear.

“I have never heard the term ‘proprioceptive maintenance maneuvers.’ It is not a clinical term in standard use,” said Professor James Gordon, associate dean and chair of the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California.

“Significant spinal arthritis” is not something that is going to get BETTER with age. It only provides the reason for the elderly shuffling, and the impression that Joe Biden will snap like a dry, brittle twig in a stiff wind. Learning that his staff is basically padding the basement in preparation for the campaign is just adding dimensions to the the reality of the situation. Biden is old, and there is no cure for that. And even making sure that he takes the shorter stairs and wears tennis shoes is no guarantee that something won’t happen.

Special shoes work! https://t.co/UqIrFCj446

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) September 26, 2023

Combine the obvious cognitive decline with the obvious physical decline, and it’s little wonder that the media and the Democrats (but I repeat myself) have spent a whole lot of time panicking over the Washington Post/ABC poll from this weekend, making sure they decry it as an “outlier” because Trump is shown with a ten-point lead – including the organizations whose names are ON THE POLL.

In addition, Post treats other results in poll as reliable. In note, pollster tries to explain Trump lead over Biden. People have a negative opinion about a lot of what Biden has done, so maybe they're just trying to send a message to Biden. https://t.co/XeR1jS1jdU pic.twitter.com/rAR4ahn3qQ

— Byron York (@ByronYork) September 24, 2023

I feel like we have to keep saying this – the presidential election season is JUST beginning. While the deck looks stacked in favor of a Biden-Trump rematch, there are absolutely zero guarantees this early on. Kamala Harris is standing just offstage, waiting for Joe to not get back up after the next fall. We have a Republican primary debate tomorrow night – seven candidates have officially made the stage (good-bye, Asa Hutchinson), and Donald Trump will be skipping out on this debate as well to speak in Detroit to the striking United Auto Workers union instead. The much hyped Ron DeSantis-Gavin Newsom debate was just confirmed to be taking place in Georgia on November 30th. Even if neither of these two end up on the presidential general election ballot, this debate, much more than any other, is going to show the future of both parties, and will attract a LOT of attention.

2024 will be the last time either Biden or Trump appears on a ballot. If Team Biden is planning on wrapping the Big Guy in bubble wrap and stuffing him in the basement, they could probably get him to Election Day without too many problems. But Biden is currently president, and just six months ago, Jill was insisting that he had the physical ability to do his job. If his campaign is considering all the ways they can keep Old Joe from tipping over and hurting himself, and we are all holding our breath each time he goes down a flight of stairs, then it’s obvious that age and frailty are a looming issue for Democrats.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click