During a CNN interview aired Tuesday, President Joe Biden insisted that there’s “not going to be a recession” (spoiler alert: we’re actually in one) before promising that even if there is, it will be “slight.”
But while the president’s reality-denying claim caught the attention of social media, it was what happened during his comments that really raised some red flags.
During Biden’s stumbling response to host Jake Tapper’s simple questions about the American economy, Biden dropped a large cue card he’d been holding inconspicuously by his side, requiring Tapper to reach down and help the 78-year-old man pick up his notes.
BIDEN: "I don't think there will be a recession. If there is, there will be a slight recession.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 12, 2022
pic.twitter.com/o6nVYOAjXV
Of course, Biden's insistence that there won't be a recession denies the existing fact that we're already in one, given that the U.S. economy has already experienced two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. But, you know, details.
But this moment revealed two more significant points: first, that the president can’t get through a prescreened interview with a historically friendly news outlet without some written help.
Related: Did Biden Just Forget He's President...Again?
And secondly – and perhaps most interestingly – is the fact that CNN didn’t take any steps to help him cover it up.
Biden’s been criticized in the past for his frequent use of cue cards and detailed notes to help him make it through even the most basic of remarks, raising serious questions about the president's memory - or lack thereof. Back in June, the president was seen during one speech holding instructions telling him when to sit down and when to say “hello.” Biden’s questionable mental competency has gotten so bad, in fact, that even left-leaning media outlets have started asking questions, most recently grilling White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the president’s cognitive fitness after he called on a dead congresswoman during an event.