One thing we demand of our presidents is that they show up in moments of national tragedy. Not just physically … though that is crucial … but show up the way Hall of Famers show up for the big games. To meet the moment.

Think George W. Bush standing amid the rubble of 9/11.

Barack Obama delivering the eulogy at Mother Emmanuel for those martyred in the Charleston church massacre.

Ronald Reagan after the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

Even think of Donald Trump’s visit to East Palestine earlier this year … a disaster site Joe Biden still hasn’t visited.

Perhaps it’s fortunate he hasn’t gone.

Yesterday, Joe Biden left his fancy vacation pad in Lake Tahoe for the ravaged Maui. But he did not show up.

Instead, as hundreds and hundreds including an unimaginable number children remain missing and likely burned alive, as a community grieved and searched for answers and sought help and hope, Joe Biden joked. He napped. He made it about him.

A Disheartening Performance

The clips tell the story.

After touring the smoldering ruins, where so many have been lost, where so many remain missing, Biden joked about how hot the ground was. “You guys catch the boots out here? That’s a hot ground, man.”

Biden jokes about how hot the ground is while touring wildfire damage in Maui pic.twitter.com/lY18UQ36fP

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 21, 2023

He also joked during his the speech when he said that the Maui County mayor looked like a defensive tackle. “You look like you played defensive tackle for, I don’t know who, but somebody good.”

Biden had opened by talking about the death of his first wife and young daughter in a car crash, and his concerns about his sons who were in the car as well. This is familiar turf for Biden. When addressing the families of those 13 Marines killed by a suicide bomber … whose task was made easier by Biden’s own Afghan withdrawal decisions … Biden invariably invoked his son Beau’s death, supposedly in the Iraq War. (Beau actually died of cancer, stateside, several years after.)

Now it’s true that showing empathy, letting people know “I’ve been there,” is a sweet salve when properly applied. However, Biden didn’t stop there. Later he offered a tone deaf riff, “I don’t want to compare difficulties, but Jill and I have a little sense of what it’s like to lose a home. I was in Washington and … lightning struck at home … I almost lost my wife, my ’67 Corvette, and my cat,” Biden said, chuckling.

Joe Biden can relate to everyone who lost their homes in Maui because there was a small fire in his kitchen that was under control in 20 minutes pic.twitter.com/fOjtR5kpnu

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 22, 2023

What a laugh riot, huh? So appropriate.

This is not the first time Biden has alluded to his house nearly burning down. And how many times has he used that line over the years about the Corvette and the cat? But it’s a fiction. In reality it was a small kitchen fire. And talking about that small fire to Maui survivors? That’s like talking about the ankle you sprained in high school to someone who just had his leg blown off by an IED.

To cap off his visit, Biden appeared to doze off when hearing from victims. 

NEW: Biden appears to fall asleep during his meeting with victims of the Maui fires in Hawaiipic.twitter.com/tzzTWsk5a8

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 22, 2023

Biden is Done

Reactions to Biden’s efforts in Maui have been withering. Perhaps the kindest comes from RedState writer Bonchie.

Dear Lord, let this just be the senility. https://t.co/GyiuM5KuVc

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) August 21, 2023

The alternative is: We have a president, who despite his “man of the people” marketing, is cold, indifferent, self-consumed. Uncaring to an almost pathological degree. A man who’d rather lounge at the beach or in Tahoe, and utter “no, no comment” when asked about the suffering of those he was elected to lead.

At the very least, Biden has shown again that he is not up to the job. That letting him continue in a position he is clearly physically, emotionally and mentally incapable of performing is not only an unacceptable danger to the nation, it is a cruel form of elder abuse.

One Way Or Another

Ironically, a health exit might spare what remains of Biden’s reputation. Right now, House Oversight has collected incontrovertible evidence that Joe Biden used the office of the Vice Presidency to enrich himself and his family. The case that he took a bribe from a Ukraine energy company to help rid the company of its legal troubles is clear cut. The evidence has been building by the day that Justice Department and FBI loyalists are working to protect Biden and his family. An impeachment inquiry is inevitable. Impeachment is almost guaranteed. And a conviction is not out of the realm of possibility. Biden is in a political mess that will only get worse.

But even more immediately, is the necessity to recognize … as his performance in Maui yesterday further amplified … that Joe Biden is simply unable to “discharge the power and duties” of his office. The 25^th Amendment must be invoked. Biden isn’t going to voluntarily step aside at this point. Unfortunately, Vice President Harris with a majority of the cabinet is not going to do what is necessary. The only option is Congress. Section Four of the 25^th Amendment reads:

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Congress must immediately create a body or commission to determine Biden’s fitness, and if it’s confirmed he’s unfit immediately invoke the 25^th Amendment. Rep. Ronnie Jackson was White House Physician under presidents of both parties. He’s well-suited to lead such a commission. There are 17 physicians overall in the House and Senate. They’ve got their oath of office and the Hippocratic oath to ensure the nation gets the true story. 

For the people of Maui, for the next town in fate’s cruel way, for those threatened by the next crisis to cross our land or impacted by a decision on the president’s desk … and yes, a thousand times yes, for Joe Biden himself:

The time has come.

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.