In case you missed it, Joe Biden tested positive again for COVID-19. Wait, you say. He just HAD it! Yes, he did, but he decided to get snarky with Donald Trump, karma came knocking, and now Trump is taunting Biden right back.

When Biden tested positive, he took Paxlovid, and while the drug does work, it also has an interesting “rebound” issue.

After initially testing positive on July 21, Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. He tested negative for the virus this past Tuesday and Wednesday, clearing him to leave isolation while wearing a mask indoors.”

Research suggests that a minority of those prescribed Paxlovid experience a rebound case of the virus. The fact that a rebound rather than a reinfection possibly occurred is a positive sign for Biden’s health once he’s clear of the disease.”

“The fact that the president has cleared his illness and doesn’t have symptoms is a good sign and makes it less likely he will develop long COVID,” said Dr. Albert Ho, an infectious disease specialist at Yale University’s school of public health.”

And despite claims that COVID rebound after taking Paxlovid is rare, Anthony Fauci had the exact same issue a month ago. So, how rare is this, really? And maybe we ought to just let most people’s immune systems work for them, instead of simply shoving meds down their throats when they only have mild symptoms?

Do you think we might want to question the wisdom of jumping to medicate people who aren’t actually *sick sick* and just let the virus run its course when they’re tolerating it just fine? https://t.co/dBZ0a95rUb

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) August 1, 2022

I get it – Biden and Fauci are old. Giving them a medication like Paxlovid makes sense. But they weren’t seriously sick, either. Which is something that Joe Biden attempted to rub in Donald Trump’s face when he thought he was done with COVID last Wednesday.

‘Here’s the bottom line: When my predecessor got COVID he had to get helicoptered to Walter Reed Medical Center,’ said Biden, 79.”

‘He was severely ill. Thankfully he recovered.”

‘I got COVID, I worked from upstairs of the White House …. for the five-day period. The difference is vaccinations of course.’

Biden was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of staffers, who whooped and cheered at the president’s arrival – belying the way the White House had tried to play down his symptoms.”

The occasion marked not just a personal victory lap but a chance for the administration to highlight progress in vaccinations and treatments.”

‘Walking out I thought I heard rumbling … my staff saying, “Oh, he’s back,”‘ said Biden as he began his remarks.”

‘Thanks for sticking around.’

This is so disingenious and nasty on Biden’s part. When Trump came down with COVID-19 in October 2020, there WERE NO VACCINES AVAILABLE. The way Biden phrases this, he makes it sound like Trump refused to get vaccinated, so his stay at Walter Reed was his own fault. It’s just so shitty, there’s no other way to describe it.

Well, karma came around for old Joe.

A quick update. pic.twitter.com/FgT1sGlZCY

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 30, 2022

And Donald Trump is never one to let a petty insult slip by. So he posted on Truth Social and mocked Biden – and then some.

“Joe Biden’s second bout of Covid, sometimes referred to as the China Virus, was sadly misdiagnosed by his doctors. He instead has Dementia, but is happily recovering well,” Trump wrote. “Joe is thinking of moving, part time, to one of those beautiful Wisconsin Nursing Homes, where almost 100% of the residents miraculously, and for the first time in history, had the strength and energy to vote — even if those votes were cast illegally.”

“Get well soon, Joe!” he added.”

Now, calling Joe Biden a dementia patient? That is fair game. And the reason it is fair game is because we can all see Grandpa Joe deteriorating before our own eyes. He has been president for almost two full years, and not only is he physically slowing, his constant verbal gaffes (especially the teleprompter readings) and the obvious handling by his staff (cue cards, anyone?) do not inspire confidence or project strength. Biden was never the sharpest pencil in the drawer, and now he’s the pencil that Ron Klain keeps trying to sharpen, but the lead keeps breaking off inside the pencil, falling out, and leaving a giant hole.

Where Trump does go off the rails – and I’m sorry, but if he wants to be a 2024 presidential candidate, then he has got to stop doing this – is when he starts slamming Wisconsin voting. When Trump talks about the 2020 election, people are tuning it out. They are tuning it out the same way that they are tuning out about January 6th. Why? Because most people seem reasonably confident in their state elections (and thankfully, the federal government was unable to pass a massive “voting rights” bill that would have undermined state election laws), and most people are staring at their wallets, the price of gas, the price of food, and the empty shelves. To the large majority of undecided/independent voters, the 2020 election is over and they don’t want to hear about it anymore. They also don’t want to hear about January 6th. They want to hear about how someone, ANYONE, would start repairing the economy and get us out of this “not a recession” as quickly as possible. And if Trump cannot let go of the 2020 election, then he stands no chance of winning back voters in 2024. The base will still turn out for him, but the Democrats will also turn out to vote against him. The independents are where the race will be won or lost, and if Trump can’t let it go, he will be left behind.

So yeah, Biden deserves the smackdown by Trump after his snotty comments. But does anyone else get the feeling that what we really have is just two old men yelling at clouds right now?

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons/cropped/adjusted/CC BY-SA 2.0