Pollster Nate Silver questioned President Joe Biden’s competency and called for him to resign for the remainder of his term, citing his avoidance of reporters and the escalating war in Ukraine.
Silver, 46, a leading pollster who spent much of the fall defending the computer model that repeatedly gave Donald Trump an election lead, weighed in on X on the high stakes given the tense state of foreign affairs.
“Is there any particular reason to believe that Biden is competent to be president at this time? It is a very difficult job,” he says wrote.
‘It’s a dangerous world. Extremely high-stakes decisions in Ukraine. He should resign and let Harris serve the last two months,” Silver added on the day Biden turned 82.
Such a move would give Harris — who took a hit on Election Day even after spending $1 billion in about four months of campaigning — full control of the office, from pardon power to commander-in-chief of the U.S. military.
Silver linked his post to a sampling of a Washington Post article that cataloged just a few of the times Biden avoided the press during his recently concluded trip to Peru and Rio de Janeiro for a pair of global conferences — in a series of insults that coincided with tense developments abroad.
It noted how locals shook maracas as Biden concluded his remarks at the Museum of the Amazon, overpowering shouted questions from reporters after his comments on the environment.
That was just one strange moment in the photo op that drew TV and online commentary because it appeared the now 82-year-old president had wandered off into the woods.
Pollster Nate Silver said President Biden should resign for the remainder of his term
(The event itself, a 57-minute gas-guzzling helicopter flight through the rainforest, was in stark contrast to the perilous journey that nearly killed Teddy Roosevelt more than 100 years ago).
Later, as he boarded the plane to Rio, a TV producer held up a sign asking about Ukraine and Chinese President Xi Jinping — and even that policy appeal to the former head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee satisfied not. the trick.
There was desperation in the screams of a reporter who practically begged Biden for comment as he boarded Air Force One to go home on Tuesday.
‘Sir. President. President Biden. Please, we didn’t hear from you the whole trip. Mr. President!’ the reporter shouted.
That only came after I tried to rub it on the eve of his big day, to no avail. ‘Sir. Chairman, happy early birthday. Would you like to talk to us for your birthday, sir?’ the reporter asked. “As a gift to the press, would you please talk to us?”
Earlier, in Lima, Peru, he ignored a host of Trump-themed questions this weekend. His one-word response was his only statement to the press, and only his second since Kamala Harris’ election defeat.
Asked how he and Chinese President Xi Jinping planned to deal with the North Korean threat, Biden said: “Peacefully,” in an answer that could only be caught on camera.
“Is there any particular reason to believe that Biden is competent to become president at this point?” Silver asked
Biden, who just turned 82, took a step back from re-election, only to see Harris lose to his arch-enemy Donald Trump
The photo that Biden missed was intended to draw attention to the fight against global hunger in a country where there is dire poverty. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva organized the initiative
Online users expressed concern over this clip, which showed President Joe Biden ‘straying’ into the Amazon rainforest. In fact, he walked the same path he took to reach his podium position on Sunday afternoon
An appeal to his ego got no better response.
“Why are you hiding from the press, sir?” one shouted.
There were other perceived humiliations during the journey. He was placed in the back corner of the group photo at the APEC conference in Lima.
When it came time for a group photo at the G20 summit in Rio, Biden was stunningly left out, along with the prime ministers of Canada and Italy.
A reporter captured the drama in real time in remarks broadcast live on C-Span.
‘Where was he? They say to wait for Biden, guys,” she said. ‘Oh my God!’ she said.
Biden’s team says it is his decision whether to talk to the press. And it has become clear that he does not want that, despite the traditions of a post-election press conference.
The press avoidance coincided with a trip where the conflict abroad appeared to be on the verge of boiling over. The Kremlin’s allies invoked World War III after Biden authorized the use of long-range missiles deep in his territory.
Biden met with Xi Jinping one-on-one (in a country where Xi was honored with a state dinner).
And his successor Donald Trump has started making personnel moves after his new vice president talked about a peace deal taking effect
The New York Times even released a public statement in April criticizing Biden’s attitude toward the press.
“For anyone who understands the role of the free press in a democracy, it should be troubling that President Biden has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his time in office,” the paper said.
“The president holds the most important office in our country, and the press plays a critical role in providing insight into his thinking and worldview, allowing the public to assess his record and hold him accountable.”