Thursday evening, President Joe Biden and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump will meet in Atlanta for the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign — and Republicans are worried.
How do I know? They keep suggesting that Joe Biden will do well … because he’s on drugs.
Over the past several days, Republican after Republican has made evidence-free accusations in what is perhaps the weirdest recent example of a presidential candidate and his supporters seeking to raise expectations for the candidate’s political rival.
For example, on Tuesday a Trump adviser claimed that Biden will “probably be filled with Adderall,” and last week former House Speaker Newt Gingrich alleged that Biden would be “propped up by drugs.” These accusations are only slightly less crude than Trump’s assertion over the weekend that the president will get “a shot in the a–” and come out “jacked up.” (Trump also asked that Biden take a drug test before Thursday — as did his disgraced former doctor, Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas).
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Neither Trump nor his allies have explained why Biden does not simply use this mysterious aid all the time.
Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri suggested more benign stimulation for Biden — either Mountain Dew “or whatever it is he took” before the State of the Union address this year, when Biden was seemingly in fighting form. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana likewise suggested that Biden will be pumped up on energy drinks.
Some of these accusations — like the notion of an 81-year-old commander in chief’s shotgunning a couple of Red Bulls before jumping onstage — are legitimately hilarious. All of them are ludicrous. And they stand in stark contrast to what Republicans have been saying about Biden for several months now — that he is too old and enfeebled to handle his responsibilities as president.
Now they are saying that Biden will do quite well in Thursday’s debate, not because of some innate political skill but because of pharmaceuticals or soft drinks. (Neither Trump nor his allies have explained why Biden does not simply use this mysterious aid all the time.) In simple terms, these are the statements of a political campaign that knows it has lowered expectations for Biden’s performance and is now desperately trying to shift course at the last minute.
It’s hard to blame them. If Biden comes out on Thursday night and looks spry and vigorous with a strong command of policy issues — specifically, the opposite of a doddering old man — it could provide a huge boost to his campaign. If Biden’s greatest political liability is his age and the perception that he is too advanced in years to handle the job, providing voters with the opposite image can only help.
Making matters even more challenging for Republicans is that Trump — never known for his eloquence — sounds less and less coherent by the week. Over the weekend, at a campaign rally in Nashville, Tennessee, he pledged to “keep A.M. radio in our cars,” patted himself on the back for making Israel the capital of Israel and promised to get rid of the Education Department except for “one desk, one person, just to make sure everyone’s speaking English.”
There was also this, um, interesting quote about religion: They want you to say what they want you, what they want to have you say. And we’re not gonna let that happen. You’re going to say as you want & you’re going to believe & you’re going to believe in God. You’re gonna believe in God because God is here & God is watching.” Two weeks ago, at an event in Las Vegas, Trump told a story about an electric-powered boat’s sinking because of the heavy weight of its “tremendously powerful battery” and said such a calamitous turn of events would increase the potential for electrocution or getting eaten by a shark. All of this had something to do with electric vehicles, which Trump thinks are bad. In short, Trump is not coming into Thursday’s debate with a burst of momentum — and it’s not as if he was starting from a high baseline. Furthermore, as a general rule, the more people see Trump, the more his supporters increase their devotion and the more the rest of the country recoils. Arguably, Biden has a similar problem, but one consistent data point in political polling this year is that Biden is failing to close the deal with traditionally more Democratic constituencies — Blacks, Hispanics and younger voters. The president’s weakness, however, is not necessarily translating into increased support for Trump. To put it another way, Democrats who have soured on Biden are more likely to be found in the polling categories of “not sure,” “not voting” or voting for a third-party candidate. Biden, not Trump, is the candidate with a higher ceiling who needs to reassure wary Democrats that he can handle four more years in office (or at the very least is better than the other guy). A good performance from Biden — or perhaps even a not-bad performance that avoids a notable senior moment — might be the most effective means for him to turn this presidential campaign in the right direction. In short, for Biden, showing up might be victory enough — and for that Republicans may have only themselves to blame.
Michael A. Cohen is a political writer and a fellow with the Eurasia Group Foundation. 
