Joe Biden went on “60 Minutes,” which is always a softball interview. But even Scott Pelley can’t cover for Biden’s performance during the interview. So Pelley helpfully reminds the audience before Biden even says a word: hey, he’s had a busy week, and he’s OLD, so cut him some slack.

Late Thursday, we met President Biden at the White House. It had been a rough week and we could see it on him. Mr. Biden will be 81 next month. And he has said that when he’s tired, his life-long stutter can creep back in. But he wedged us into his schedule to express his commitment to Israel after the massacre of more than 1,000 civilians eight days ago. Twenty nine Americans were killed. Fifteen are missing—and at least a small number of them are known to have been taken hostage.

The reason that Pelley offers up this mea culpa is because Biden’s age is clearly showing. We are being told repeatedly by the press that it’s problematic if we even THINK about how old the Big Guy is now. But the transcript of the interview doesn’t even try to sugar coat it. Biden has a very hard time stringing his sentences together. You can blame stress, you can blame age – fine. But does the old man who is constantly fighting with not falling on stairs project an image of strength and competence to the world in this very trying hour? You make the call.

And sadly, the State Department has now said that thirty Americans have been confirmed killed, with thirteen “unaccounted for” and missing. Biden has apparently reached out to the families who are hoping that their loved ones are still alive, held as hostages in Gaza. But then he starts wandering into the weeds, trying to split the difference between what has to happen in order for Israel to eliminate Hamas as a threat.

Scott Pelley: Certainly, about 1,200 Israeli civilians were killed in the initial attack, but now Hamas fighters and Palestinian civilians are being killed in the counterattack. Is it time for a ceasefire?

President Biden: Look, there’s a fundamental difference. Israel is going after a group of people who have engaged in barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust. And– so I think Israel has to respond. They have to go after Hamas. Hamas is a bunch of cowards. They’re hiding behind the civilians. They put their of—their—their—their headquarters where civilians are and buildings and the like. But to the extent they can separate out and avoi—I’m conf– the Israelis are gonna do everything in their power to avoid the killing of innocent civilians.

Hamas is an Islamist terrorist group and the government of Gaza. Gaza is 25 miles long and averages 5 miles wide. Israel severely limits its economy so most Gazans are destitute. Now, Israel has cut off food, fuel, electricity and most water, and has ordered 1 million Gazans to evacuate to the southern half of Gaza. The U.N. warns of a humanitarian disaster.

Scott Pelley: There are about 2 million people in Gaza, as you know, Mr. President, 2 million people trapped. About half of them are children. Are you asking Israel to establish a humanitarian corridor in that area or get humanitarian supplies into it?

President Biden: Yes, our team is talkin’ to ’em about that. And– whether there could be a safe zone. We’re also talking to Egyptians– whether there is an outlet to get these children and– and women out— into—out of that a that area at this moment. But it’s– it’s c– hard.

Scott Pelley: You would like to see a humanitarian corridor that allows some of the 2 million Gazans out of the area?

President Biden: Yes.

Scott Pelley: You would like to see humanitarian supplies brought into Gaza?

President Biden: Yes.

Scott Pelley: So you do not agree with the Israeli total siege of the Gaza Strip?

President Biden: I’m confident that Israel is going to act under the measure– the– the rules of war. There– there’s– standards that democratic institutions and countries w– go– go by. And so– I’m– I– I’m confident that there’s gonna be an ability for the innocents in Gaza to be able to have access to medicine and food and water.

Israel only supplies about one-third of Gaza’s drinking water, the terms of which were set out in the Oslo Accords. Pretty sure those accords are dead with the invasion and massacre by Hamas. But Israel announced on Sunday that they were turning the water back on (apparently at Biden’s behest) – but only to the southern part of Gaza. They are hoping that people will be allowed to evacuate from the north – but it’s clear that Hamas doesn’t want their civilian population to move, because they are blocking the routes and insisting people stay and die for the cameras.

Listen to this phone call.

A Gaza resident trying to evacuate southward tells an IDF Intelligence Officer about how Hamas is not letting them leave. pic.twitter.com/R9purqIZhs

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 15, 2023

Biden says that Israel must “go after” Gaza, but still thinks there is a “two state solution” to be found… somewhere. He even admits that it won’t happen right now.

Scott Pelley: Would you support Israeli occupation of Gaza at this point?

President Biden: I think it’d be a big mistake. Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that…It would be a mistake to…for Israel to occupy…Gaza again. We…but going in but taking out the extremists the Hezbollah is up north but Hamas down south. Is a necessary requirement.

Scott Pelley: Do you believe that Hamas must be eliminated entirely?

President Biden: Yes, I do. But there needs to be a Palestinian authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.

That path, called “the two state solution,” has been U.S. policy for decades. It would create an independent nation next to Israel for 5 million Palestinians who live in Gaza and on the West Bank of the Jordan River.

Scott Pelley: And you believe Israel would pursue that after what’s occurred–

President Biden: Not now. Not now. Not now, but– but I think Israel understands that a significant portion of Palestinian people do not share the views of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Yes, Israel understands this – it’s why they are begging people to evacuate. But “60 Minutes,” at the very beginning of their report, states the plain fact that Hamas is the government that controls Gaza. Until there is a government that doesn’t wish Israel to be wiped off the map, there can’t be a “two state solution.” There is no unifying Palestinian leader. Israel doesn’t want to occupy Gaza, but they are done with letting a nest of vipers live right across the border, sending rockets and terrorists to kill civilians. There are no good solutions here, only ones that get less people killed in the future.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden doesn’t see where his policies with Iran have led to this moment. Nope, nope, nope.

Scott Pelley: Is Iran behind the Gaza war?

President Biden: I don’t wanna get into classified information. But to be very blunt with you, there is no clear evidence of that.

Scott Pelley: At this point, no evidence that Iran is behind any of this?

President Biden: Correct. Now, Iran constantly supports Hamas and Hezbollah. I don’t mean that. But in terms of were they– w– did they have foreknowledge; did they help plan the attack– the– there’s– there’s no evidence of that at this point.

Yeah, about that…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar today. pic.twitter.com/kU69V4Ah6z

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) October 14, 2023

Sure, Iran and Hamas are all huggy with each other, but that doesn’t mean anything! And neither does the reporting from the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post saying that Iran helped train and plan the invasion, and armed Hamas for the massacre! We have some top-shelf denial happening here.

To give him credit, Biden does acknowledge something that too many of his own party won’t – that this atrocity is exactly like what happened during the Holocaust.

Mr. Biden told us images of October 7th reminded him of the Holocaust—which he has studied– taking his family to the Dachau death camp in Germany. This is 2015, the man in the wheelchair is a Dachau survivor. Behind Mr. Biden is the president’s granddaughter.

President Biden: I want my children and grandchildren to fully understand exactly what happened and why you couldn’t deny the carnage going on if you were living in Germany and in Europe.

Scott Pelley: Why do you feel so strongly? What does Israel mean to you?

President Biden: The Jews have been subject to abuse, prejudice, and– and– attempt to wipe them out for, oh, God, over a th– thousand years. For me, it’s about decency, respect, honor. it’s just simply wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It violates every religious principle I have and every way– and every single principle my father taught me.

When you watch the interview, it’s hard not to think that Biden is simply going to keel over and fall asleep – or worse – at any second. He looks and sounds frail. He’s stumbling over his words in a way that wasn’t a massive problem before the 2020 election. But he’s not going to be talked out of running again.

Afghanistan back under Taliban control. Proxy World War 3 in E. Europe and now all gains in the Middle East made over last 5 years erased,

Yeah give him the fucking Peace Prize.

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 16, 2023

So far, it appears that Biden’s weakness, coupled with the disastrous withdrawl from Afghanistan, has enabled the behaviors of the most bad actors on the world stage, not discouraged them. Look at this tired, wrung out old man. Are you willing to bet that he lives for another four years? And what will the world look like if he is still sitting in the White House for those four years?

Featured image: Joe Biden at a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu on September 20, 2023, official White House photo by Cameron Smith, cropped, official United States government photo in the public domain