There’s this thing going on wherein Biden officials have to go on camera and state that the president’s mental acumen and absolute command of the facts are without peer. The latest official to render this ritualistic praise is Treasury Secretary Janey Yellen, and she did so on CBS Evening News.
Watch Secretary Yellen close out the interview by claiming, when asked by CBS’s Jo-Ling Kent, that Biden is “at the top of his game”:
KENT: Another hurdle for the Biden campaign, voter concerns about his age- again a focus after special counsel Robert Hur's report questioning the president’s mental fitness.
It called President Biden a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory. Do you agree with that?
YELLEN: I absolutely disagree with that. I work very closely with President Biden and I’m often with him on foreign trips. He’s at the top of his game. What the special counsel said was very unfair.
Without evidence, some wiseacre might say.
Before this exchange, Kent asks Yellen whether she and the president are satisfied with where inflation is at. Yellen goes beyond that and says that Americans are better off than they were 4 years ago.Cut to Kent meeting a diverse trio of Michiganders at a local diner, and being resoundingly told otherwise:
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This gentleman also happens to be a member of the local Arab-American community who is most decidedly not voting for Biden due to his response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Add this to the ongoing “DOOM” file of reporters nervously interviewing members of Biden’s crumbling 2020 coalition.
The report closes with the question on Biden’s cognitive abilities. Given that this question is not going away any time soon, expect the corporate media to elicit more of these prompts.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of this report as aired on CBS Evening News on Wednesday, February 14th, 2024:
NORAH O’DONNELL: Now to the economy, with high prices remaining one of the top concerns for voters ahead of the 2024 election. With higher-than-expected new inflation numbers this week, the president dispatched Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to Michigan to tout his economic agenda. In tonight's "America Decides"," CBS's Jo-Ling Kent sat down for an exclusive interview with Secretary Yellen.
JO-LING KENT: We hit the road with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the battleground state of Michigan, where the economy is one of voters’ top concerns.
Do you think the president can win in Michigan in November?
TREASURY SECRETARY JANET YELLEN: Well, I certainly hope so. I think the economy is going to be good and strong.
KENT: Inflation rose 3.1% in January, more than expected. Driving the higher prices, car insurance surged 21% over the last year. Rent has risen 6%. And day care costs are up 5%.
Are you and President Biden happy with where inflation is right now?
YELLEN: Well, look, we know that Americans are experiencing discomfort because some important prices are higher than they were pre-pandemic, but what I think is really important is that wages have gone up, along with prices. So people are better off than they were pre-pandemic.
KENT: But the three Democratic voters we met up with at Detroit's Cadillac Square Diner are facing a different reality.
Do you feel like inflation is getting better?
DEMAR BYAS: I do not feel like it is getting better. I have a photo booth business. I do some graphic design. So you have to get creative to supplement because it is not working.
KENT: All three gladly voted for Biden in 2020. Now they've got major reservations. Are you better off now than you were in January of 2021?
HUSSEIN DABAJEH: No, I'm not. And that's me being honest. I'm working five times harder. When I calculate everything, hours worked to amount of money bringing in, is nowhere near as high as it was in 2020 or 2021.
KENT: How do you feel?
ELIZABETH NELSON: I worry. I mean, I have two kids who are 19 and 21. What I am reading and hearing about the job market, I'm scared for them. I'm really scared for them.
Elizabeth Nelson and Demar Byas say they’ll ultimately vote for the president again, but for business owner Hussein Dabajeh, the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war is the deal breaker.
DABAJEH: I’m worried about 35,000 people overseas. I will never vote for Trump but I can’t see myself voting for Biden, especially not with where he’s at right now. I mean, I'm going to stand with my community.
KENT: Another hurdle for the Biden campaign, voter concerns about his age- again a focus after special counsel Robert Hur's report questioning the president’s mental fitness.
It called President Biden a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory. Do you agree with that?
YELLEN: I absolutely disagree with that. I work very closely with President Biden and I’m often with him on foreign trips. He’s at the top of his game. What the special counsel said was very unfair.
KENT: Another sign of trouble for president Biden here in Michigan, a liberal group originally affiliated and launched by senator Bernie Sanders back in 2016 is urging Michiganders to vote uncommitted in the upcoming democratic primary because of President Biden's position on the Israel-Hamas war. Meantime, Secretary Yellen tells us the administration needs to do everything it can to "bring this tragic conflict to an end." Norah?
O’DONNELL: A lot of news in that piece. Jo-Ling Kent, thank you so much. And we should note, it is important since President Biden only won Michigan by 150,000 votes. Thank you.
