Joe Biden’s mental capacity is an election issue – the Democrats must replace him now

The US president has faced a storm of criticism for appearing lost and looking vacant at global events – but, says Mary Dejevsky, it is still not too late to anoint a replacement who can take on Donald Trump

Joe Biden could be replaced as the party’s presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention in August (Getty Images)

Over the past week, discussion of the US presidential election has dramatically shifted from Joe Biden’s chances of winning a second term, to his chances of contesting the election at all.

The age question has lurked in the background ever since Biden – who, a fortnight after the 5 November poll, will turn 82 – said he would seek re-election. But it has suddenly leapt into the foreground thanks to video clips apparently showing him frozen, behaving strangely or apparently “out of it” at a number of public events. An angry White House has since accused Biden’s “right-wing critics” of producing “cheap fakes” with selective editing.

One clip, from the G7 in Italy last week – which appeared to show Biden apparently wandering off – was said to have been edited so as not to show that the US president was actually joining another group. A clip from a White House Juneteenth holiday that showed Biden staring blankly while everyone else danced was explained by the observation that some people just don’t like to dance.