Remember Who Lied to You

By Charles C. W. Cooke

Friday, June 28, 2024

 

Good morning. If I may be permitted, I would like to usher in the new day by spraying some sulfuric acid around.

 

Last night, over the course of about five minutes, the mainstream press and the Democratic Party’s establishment shifted positions on Joe Biden’s fitness for office. And when I say “shifted positions,” I mean shifted hemispheres. One moment we were in Italy, the next we were being whizzed across the Equator to Micronesia. It was as if the Political Gods had changed the channel. Poof!

 

I have been writing for more than a year that Joe Biden is too old to be president right now — let alone until 2029. I’ve written about it here an here and here and here, and in many other places besides. I’ve talked about it on The Editors. I’ve discussed it on the radio. I’ve mentioned it on Twitter. And when I’ve done so, I haven’t hinted at the notion, I’ve conveyed it as bluntly as I know how. Simultaneously, I’ve submitted that Biden’s apologists are lying to us about this, that they know they’re lying to us about this, that we know that they are lying to us about this, and that they know that we know they are lying to us about this, but that they’re lying to us about this anyway, because they don’t think it’s their job to tell the truth.

 

This morning, many of those people have stopped lying to us about this — perhaps because the lie has now become too obvious to deny. But that does not in any way change the fact that they have been lying to us about this. When they complained about “right-wing media,” they were lying to us. When they insisted that worries about Biden’s age were just cynical cover for Donald Trump, they were lying to us. When they suggested that Biden was impressive and sharp behind closed doors, they were lying to us. When they talked about “cheapfakes” and “deceptive editing,” they were lying to us. When they pulled out the “misinformation experts say . . .” garbage, they were lying to us. When they proposed that Robert Hur’s report was “partisan” or “unfair,” they were lying to us. They’re liars, and that they have ceased lying for a moment does not change the fact that they are liars who will lie to you for any political advantage they can gain.

 

I record this here not to say “I told you so” — although there’s nothing wrong with doing that — but as a reminder that those people will also be lying when the next big topic comes up. This isn’t a one-time thing. It’s not limited to Joe Biden’s age or to this election. It’s endemic. If you’re willing to lie about the president not being senile when everyone can see that the president is senile, then you’re willing to lie about anything to advance your political goals. The people who lied about Biden’s senility will do exactly the same thing next time — tomorrow, probably, if not today — and the rest of us ought to remember that.