In a blogpost entitled The Puppeteer and the Puppet, which related to the United States (U.S.) presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on June 27, 2024, I stated:
[M]y late stepmom used to say, “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining” to describe the process of gaslighting—psychological manipulation of a person, usually over an extended period of time, that causes an individual to question the validity of one’s own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.
Given the course of events proceeding Biden’s apparent announcement on July 21, 2024, regarding no intention on running for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, it suddenly seems as though it’s raining. Is it rain? Could it be urine?
To examine whether or not moisture one experiences is rain or piss, consider the following:
· March 24, 2020, The Atlantic featured an article entitled “Stay Alive, Joe Biden,” as the piece claimed, “Voters seem to have coalesced around Biden for his past—who they have known him to be for the past four decades in American politics—rather than for anything in his present. It’s as if Biden exists primarily as an idea, rather than an actual candidate.”
The invitation for Biden to “stay alive” could’ve been an allusion to the perceived deadliness of Covid-19. It was also plausibly associated with the fact that one source posited on March 12, 2020, “If Biden is elected, he’ll be older on the day he takes office than Reagan was on the day he left office. So yes, his mental fitness is a legitimate issue.”
Noteworthy, people had noted concerns about Biden’s perceived cognitive abilities dating back to the ‘80s. For example, a March 20, 2019 source reported:
In early 1988, Joe Biden was devastated.
The then-Delaware senator had bowed out of the 1988 presidential race after questions were raised about the lack of attribution of quotes he used in a speech. Biden feared the scandal would tarnish his reputation, that people would consider him a cheat.
He was having regular headaches, requiring him to carry around a big bottle of Tylenol. He was also feeling pain in his neck.
And as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Biden had recently overseen the contentious confirmation hearing for Robert Bork, followed by hearings for Anthony Kennedy.
In February of 1988, he suffered two life-threatening brain aneurysms. Biden has said the experience shaped him into the “kind of man I want to be.”
At this point, does the moisture on your leg resemble urine, rain, or some other liquid substance? Is it possible that throughout the course of his presidency, Biden hasn’t been cognitively well while the Mockingbird media and other sources have ostensibly lied about his condition?
· December 4, 2020, CNN featured Biden and Kamala Harris in an interview. At that time, Biden stated, “Like I told Barack, if-if I reach something where there’s, uh, a fundamental disagreement we have based on a moral principle, I’ll, uh, I’ll-I’ll-I’ll-I’ll develop some disease and say I have to resign.”
· July 17, 2024, The New York Times reported, “President Biden said in an interview released on Wednesday that he would re-evaluate whether to stay in the presidential race if a doctor told him directly that he had a medical condition that made that necessary.”
· July 17, 2024, NBC reported, “President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday while he was in Las Vegas for a series of events, the White House said.”
Taking a charitable approach to Biden’s 2020 admission about resigning after developing “some disease,” one could imagine it’s merely a coincidence that four years later he apparently was diagnosed with Covid-19 on July 17, 2024, and four days later he reportedly announced his intention not to further participate in the 2024 election.
A coincidence may be defined as the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection. It’s not impossible that Biden was merely joking about an exit strategy four years ago when he stammered through an interview.
Additionally, it’s plausible that other factors contributed to his apparent decision to step down from the presidential race (e.g., many Democrats pushing for Biden to rethink his election bid). Still, it’s worth noting what one source factually states:
[S]ince before the 2020 election, Republicans and their conservative allies have loudly proclaimed that Joe Biden’s lack of mental fitness disqualifies him from America’s highest office. Now, in the wake of the president’s disastrous performance in the presidential debate, many of those same voices are taking up a different rallying cry: We told you so. And the media covered it up.
Where’s the lie, regardless of who identified an obvious issue? Although I don’t identify as a Democrat, Republican, progressive, conservative, or otherwise, I also highlighted my concerns in a blogpost entitled Arguing Attributes of Ability by stating:
As I don’t have any [protected health information] on President Joe Biden, I’ll simply let a compilation of his many gaffes up until 2020 speak for him. Since that time, all one may do is merely perform an internet search for Biden’s faux pas to discover [the President of the U.S.] speaking to himself, greeting people who aren’t there, and mumbling incoherently.
Given that I have functioning eyes, ears which work, and the capacity to use logic and reason, I don’t think it’s raining when my leg is suddenly wet as those who’ve covered for Biden have their pants down. All the same, I’m not self-disturbed with beliefs about this matter.
Even when considering differential treatment of Trump in comparison to Biden, I’m unbothered. For context, a January 13, 2021 source reported:
“The Democratic-controlled House approved a resolution Tuesday night calling on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to assume the powers of the presidency,” because Trump purportedly “demonstrated an ‘inability to discharge the most basic and fundamental powers and duties of his office.”
I’m unfazed in the face of discriminatory behavior, gaslighting, and disinformation, because I practice Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Thus, I realize that fallible human beings sometimes – and even often – deliberately lie to protect their own interests.
At the time this blog entry is being posted, Biden hasn’t been seen by members of the public in a few days. So-called conspiracy theories allege that the President may be direly ill, dead, or contemplating whether or not to rescind his position in favor of Harris completing his term.
Even in relation to these possibilities, I’m unbothered. After all, I comprehend how little control and influence I have in life, so I practice unconditional acceptance and carry on about my day.
Is it raining? Nope. It’s something else. If you, too, have been pissed on by information about Biden (or lack thereof, as of recent), you don’t have to be pissed off. Would you like to know more about how to keep from disturbing yourself? If so, I look forward to hearing from you.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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Brain Aneurysm Foundation. (2019, March 20). What Joe Biden learned from his life-threatening brain aneurysms. Retrieved from https://www.bafound.org/news/what-joe-biden-learned-from-his-life-threatening-brain-aneurysms/
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