Biden once again tells his debunked Amtrak story, but this time twice in one visit



President Joe Biden's various inconsistencies might warrant criticism, but some of his consistencies may be grounds for concern. Once again, the country's oldest-ever president — who celebrates his 81st birthday on Nov. 20 — managed to tell the exact same factually questionable story twice over just a brief period.

Biden visited the Amtrak Bear Heavy Maintenance Shops in Bear, Delaware, on Monday. During his brief visit, he twice regaled those who would listen with the tale of his conversation with an Amtrak conductor named Angelo Negri — a conversation that apparently took place a year after Negri died and over 20 years after the conductor's retirement.

First, Biden told the debunked story to a group of Amtrak workers.

Biden again tells the widely debunked story of an Amtrak conductor congratulating him for traveling more than a million miles as VP.\n\nThe conductor retired from Amtrak in 1993. This never happened.
— (@)

Moments later, he told the story again when announcing his administration's $16.4 billion investment in projects along the Northeast Corridor.

In the second iteration with the aid of teleprompters, Biden said, "When I was vice president, I flew over a million miles on Air Force Two, but I traveled further than that on Amtrak over the years. ... So, when I was coming home to see my mom and I just — she was living with us at the time; my dad passed away. And I got on the train on a Friday, and — I won't get him into complete trouble; I'll just tell his first name. He was number two in seniority at the time, Angelo."

It's unclear why Biden figured he might trouble the dead with his story.

Biden again claimed that Negri approached him, grabbed his cheek, and teased him about a report that he had flown 1.2 million miles while serving as vice president, noting he had traveled even more on Amtrak.

"And I said, 'How did you figure that?' He said, 'Well, 118 days a year, almost 300 miles a day, 36 years, plus as vi —,' then he went on, the whole deal. And I said, 'I believe you, Ang. Let me get on the train, will you?'"

Biden \u2014 for the second time in less than an hour \u2014 repeats the widely debunked story about an Amtrak conductor congratulating him for traveling more than a million miles on Amtrak as vice president.\n\nExcept the conductor retired in 1993, making the story impossible.
— (@)

CNN stressed that Biden's story is false for more than one reason.

"First, he could not possibly have had this exchange with Negri: He did not reach the million-miles-flown mark as vice president until September 2015, according to his own past comments, but Negri had died more than a year earlier, in May 2014. Second, Biden's mother was not dying at the time he reached the million-miles-flown mark. In fact, she had died more than five years prior," reported the outlet.

The White House failed to respond to CNN's requests for comments this week, just as it did the last time Biden spun the yarn.

The New York Post indicated that Biden has now told the false Amtrak story 12 times as president.

The tale of an impossible conversation with Negri is not the only story Biden has repeated in short succession in recent months.

Blaze News previously reported that on Sept. 20, Biden attended a Manhattan fundraising event hosted by Amy Goldman Fowler, a billionaire heiress who has long poured cash into Democratic war chests and pro-abortion groups.

Biden told the tale of why he decided to run for president, then minutes later repeated the same story nearly word for word — including the false claim that former President Donald Trump meant to include white identitarians in Charlottesville, Virginia, when suggesting there were "fine people on both sides" of the Confederate statue debate in 2017.

When later pressed about why Biden "would fully retell a story in the same space, same event," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "The president was speaking at a fundraiser and he was speaking from his heart."

Blaze News recently detailed the findings of a Pentagon-funded study concluding that "an increasing number of cleared personnel — that is, personnel who hold or have held security clearances — have or will have dementia."

People with Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia, may repeat statements and questions over and over, eventually forget the names of family members and everyday objects, and/or have trouble finding the right words for objects or expressing thoughts, according to the Mayo Clinic.

A New York Times/Siena Poll published Sunday revealed that 71% of respondents agreed with the statement, "Joe Biden is just too old to be an effective president." And 54% of respondents who voted for Biden in 2020 agreed with the statement. By way of comparison, only 38% of respondents suggested former President Donald Trump was too old to be an effective president.

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Pentagon-funded study points out obvious national security threat: An increasing number of US officials 'have or will have dementia'



A Pentagon-funded study has highlighted how geriatric government officials' mental degeneration could pose a risk to national and global security.

The RAND Corporation's National Security Research Division noted in a report published earlier this year that as a consequence of people living longer and working later in life, "the workforce might experience a higher prevalence of dementia than in past generations."

"Taken together, we believe that an increasing number of cleared personnel — that is, personnel who hold or have held security clearances — have or will have dementia," concluded the RAND researchers.

The Mayo Clinic indicated that age is a major risk factor for dementia, with the risk rising dramatically after age 65.

According to the report, 45% of the federal workforce is over the age of 50 and 15% of all non-season full-time permanent federal civilian employees are retirement-eligible.

A great many individuals presently progressing away from the mean might soon begin experiencing "difficulty remembering new information, poor judgment, impulsivity, disorientation, and behavioral changes."

In other words, they might join the over 55 million persons worldwide who the World Health Organization indicated presently suffer from dementia worldwide, the majority of whom are believed to specifically have Alzheimer's disease.

Whereas with some sufferers, the pain of mental deterioration may be localized, a demented person in the national security workforce could wreak havoc on the global stage should they misplace or volunteer sensitive information.

"The risk that an individual becomes a national security threat because of dementia symptoms depends on many factors, such as the nature of the classified information they hold, for how long the unauthorized disclosure of that information could cause damage (including serious or exceptionally grave damage), and whether the individual is targeted by an adversary," said the report.

A nonthreatening case would be a geriatric with early-stage dementia who has committed to writing everything down in an unsecured notebook. If the notes do not pertain to damaging classified knowledge, then the targeting of the individual and theft of the notebook by bad actors, though embarrassing, would not be the end of the world.

However, if a retired senior intelligence official around Biden's age began divulging the classified details of covert surveillance and other missions they had previously been involved in — perhaps to people in a nursing home — then extant operations, diplomatic efforts, and more could ultimately be compromised.

The RAND researchers stressed the importance of codifying processes by which current and past security clearance holders could be checked for dementia risks, particularly those who have dealt with top secret materials in the past.

Among their more "extreme" prescriptions for handling what they figure will be a worsening problem, the researchers recommended monitoring at-risk personnel based on predictive models; assessing environmental threats to determine the likelihood of bad actors eliciting classified intelligence; conducting cognitive testing; and implementing additional monitoring systems."

Since "workplace protections to prevent ageism and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protections for health information" might get in the way, priority should be "to protect the most-valuable assets."

This research is especially timely given that President Joe Biden, who became the oldest individual to ever take the White House three years ago, is running for re-election in 2024, possibly against a Republican opponent only three years his junior.

Biden routinely exhibits signs of cognitive breakdown — tripping over nothing, mistaking his sister for his wife, repeatedly confusing the names of disparate nations, and relying upon cue cards for instructions on how to execute basic functions.

A number of Biden's apparent blunders would also qualify as symptoms of dementia.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with dementia have problems with memory; attention; communication; reasoning, judgment, and problem solving; and visual perception beyond typical age-related changes in vision.

Forgetting a family member's name and not being able to complete tasks independently are among the signs of dementia highlighted by the CDC.

Biden is not, however, the only politician in Washington who appears to be struggling with his duties partly as a consequence of his advanced age.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), 90, asked "Where am I going?" as she was wheeled back into the Senate in May after suffering a bout of shingles, which appears to have paralyzed more than just certain parts of her face. Her handlers have made sure to coach Feinstein on how to help shape American legislative history, in one instance audibly telling her during a vote, "Just say aye."

The problem of degenerating gerontocrats is also not a problem limited to one party.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has on more than one occasion frozen in public. His most recent episode prompted Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), an ophthalmologist, to suggest the issue "looks like a focal, neurological event."

Newsweek reported that the 118th U.S. Congress is older than any in American history. Whereas the average voter in the U.S. is 50 years old, the average age of Democratic senators is 65 and the average age of Republican senators is 63.

"Between now and 2040, the senior population is projected to swell by 44 percent, while the 18-to-64 population grows by just 6 percent. And many of those elders will have no qualms about keeping older politicians in office," journalist William J. Kole, author of "The Big 100: The New World of Super-Aging," told Newsweek. "Older Americans' lock on higher office is only going to intensify as the Baby Boomers age into their 100s."

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Sen. Feinstein's office admits the 89-year-old Democrat had serious brain complications, prompting more calls for her resignation



Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has signaled in recent days that she doesn't know where she is going and doesn't know where she's been. Unable to ignore or conceal the 89-year-old's mental deterioration any longer, her handlers have finally admitted that the California Democrat's alleged case of shingles had a more profound impact on her body and mind than previously indicated.

The senior Democrat was first allegedly diagnosed with shingles on February 26, then hospitalized until March 6. She has been in recovery ever since.

A statement attributed to Feinstein last week — concerning her return to Washington that she does not appear to remember — indicated she was "still experiencing temporary side effects from the virus including vision and balance impairments."

That was evidently not the whole story.

Feinstein's office revealed Thursday that she is suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a complication from the virus, reported the Associated Press.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Ramsay Hunt syndrome can result in hearing loss, eye problems, vertigo, and facial paralysis.

While the syndrome alone might prove to be a stumbling block for anyone in such a consequential position, a spokesman for Feinstein indicated the California Democrat's problems have affected far more than just her face and balance.

Adam Russell revealed Feinstein suffered encephalitis well into March.

Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. Sufferers reportedly experience flu-like symptoms, usually followed by more severe symptoms such as confusion, hallucinations, seizures, problems with speech, and loss of consciousness.

While Russell claimed Feinstein's brain inflammation "resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital," the Mayo Clinic notes that complications, such as those now admitted by Feinstein's team on her behalf, can "last for months or be permanent."

Memory problems and personality changes are among the decision-impacting complications that could persist indefinitely.

Dr. Adrien Mirouse, a physician and immunologist based at Sorbonne University in Paris who has studied post-shingles encephalitis patients extensively, told the New York Times, "You may have some symptoms that last after the encephalitis. ... It’s not sure you will be able to recover completely. That’s true at 89, it’s also true at 30 or 20."

The Times noted that the inflammation "alone can damage cells in the brain," possibly impairing judgment and contributing to cognitive decline, which may account for why she is "now struggling to function in a job that demands long days, near-constant engagement on an array of crucial policy issues and high-stakes decision-making."

The revelation that there is far more hindering her than stairs has excited concerns about her competence in her present capacity as a U.S. senator.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters outside the Capitol Thursday, "If you think [Feinstein] ought to resign ... then by God, go to Amazon and buy a spine online and say it publicly."

Leftist MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan tweeted, "The people around her should be ashamed, and Schumer and Durbin should be pressuring her today to resign/retire."

Twitter commentator and former Democratic campaigner Yashar Ali wrote, "Having her serve in her state is elder abuse...it's cruel."

One of Feinstein's colleagues told the Times that her current state is "frightening," marking a tragic end to a six-term stint in the Senate.

Earlier this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) claimed Feinstein's "refusal to either retire or show up is causing great harm to the judiciary," calling for her to retire.

TheBlaze previously reported that in April, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) tweeted, "It's time for @SenFeinstein to resign. We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people."

Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota concurred with Khanna, calling it a "dereliction of duty" for Feinstein to remain in the Senate.

While junior leftists and media personalities have knives out for the aged Democrat, even her allies are now turning on her.

Susie Tompkins Buell, a major Democratic donor and longtime Feinstein ally, told the Times, "The Senate has critical, challenging work to do, and as the stakes are so high and she is not able to be present, to be informed and active, let alone have the rest she needs in order to recover, I feel she needs to step down. And yet she isn’t willing in this state of mind."

Newsweek reported that there remains a handful of Democrats aware of Feinstein's sporadic mental absences, but desperate for her continued bodily presence as a means to continue advancing their agenda.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said, "Democrats don't get in the way of conversations between patients and their doctors. ... Feinstein came back last week and she voted, and that was very good."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said last week that with Feinstein back, "Anything we do in the Senate that requires a majority is now within reach."

Time magazine warned its Democratic readership that in the event of Feinstein's premature retirement, "there is nothing ensuring that [her] successor could be the 11th vote on Judiciary. ... That means 10 Republicans would have to allow Democrats to either send Feinstein's replacement or another lawmaker into that role. There is scant evidence that Republicans would accede to that request."

Time also suggested that there is a "cynical, craven dark" argument, which it was happy to advance, for keeping the addled geriatric on the Senate committee just in case there is an opening on the Supreme Court and Democrats want to rush a nominee through before 2025.

Audio was recently released of an exchange that showcased the confusion and memory loss suffered by the senator Time magazine reckons Democrats should keep wheeling in.

On Tuesday, reporters asked Feinstein about the well-wishes she received from her Senate colleagues.

"What have I heard about about what?" asked Feinstein, evidently confused.

"About your return," responded the reporter.

"I haven't been gone," said Feinstein. "You should ... I haven't been gone. I've been working."

Ostensibly giving her an out, one reporter asked, "You've been working from home is what you're saying?"

"No, I've been here," said Feinstein, becoming agitated. "I've been voting. Please, you either know or don't know."

\u201c"How have they felt about you returning?"\n\nFEINSTEIN: "No, I haven't been gone. You should follow the\u2014 I haven't been gone. I've been working."\n\n"Working from home is what you're saying?"\n\nFEINSTEIN: "No, I've been here. I've been voting."\u201d
— RNC Research (@RNC Research) 1684439983

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein signals no recollection of being absent for months in disquieting exchange with reporters: 'No, I've been here'



Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was wheeled back into the Senate last week without having fully recovered from what her handlers claim was a bad case of shingles. Although she appeared confused, weary, and sickly, Democrats were nevertheless happy to have her back to vote forward their agenda.

A recent exchange between the 89-year-old senator and reporters, detailed by liberal publications Slate and the Los Angeles Times, revealed that while the California Democrat may be counted present for consequential votes in body, she may not be fully present in mind.

Despite Feinstein's doctor-prescribed "lighter schedule," the senator made time Tuesday afternoon to briefly answer questions posed to her by Slate's Jim Newell and others.

Feinstein was freshly back from being carted over to vote against a Republican bill, which successfully blocked a radical District of Columbia policing law.

Newell asked how she was feeling, and Feinstein responded from her wheelchair, "Oh, I'm feeling fine. I have a problem with the leg."

Responding to a follow-up question from another reporter concerning the nature of the problem, the senator added, "Well, nothing that's anyone concern but mine."

One reporter broached the subject of her May 10 return, asking about the well-wishes she received from her Senate colleagues.

"What have I heard about about what?" asked Feinstein, evidently confused.

"About your return," responded the reporter.

"I haven't been gone," said Feinstein. "You should ... I haven't been gone. I've been working."

Ostensibly giving her an out, one reporter asked, "You've been working from home is what you're saying?"

"No, I've been here," said Feinstein, becoming agitated. "I've been voting. Please, you either know or don't know."

Feinstein's handlers promptly wheeled her away following this disquieting exchange.

TheBlaze previously reported that the senior Democrat was first allegedly diagnosed with shingles on February 26, then hospitalized until March 6. She has reportedly been in recovery ever since.

A statement attributed to Feinstein — concerning her return to Washington that she does not appear to remember — indicated she was "still experiencing temporary side effects from the virus including vision and balance impairments."

The statement made no mention of the senator's well-documented cognitive decline.

An unnamed Californian member of Congress told the San Francisco Chronicle in April 2022, "I have worked with her for a long time and long enough to know what she was like just a few years ago: always in command, always in charge, on top of the details, basically couldn’t resist a conversation where she was driving some bill or some idea. All of that is gone."

The concerned lawmaker added, "She was an intellectual and political force not that long ago, and that’s why my encounter with her was so jarring. Because there was just no trace of that."

It is not only the fact of her past absence that appears to have confounded Feinstein, but her presence as well.

The Huffington Post reported that when Feinstein was first placed in a wheelchair outside the Senate last week, she asked, "Where am I going?"

While Feinstein may have trouble remembering why she is in the Senate, Democrats — who control only 51 of the 100 seats in the Senate and have a one-person advantage on the Senate Judiciary Committee — are sure to provide her with a reminder when the next vote comes up.

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Biden, the oldest president ever to take office, acknowledges concerns about his age: 'I could drop dead tomorrow'



President Joe Biden, the oldest president ever to take office in the United States, reportedly told Al Sharpton last month that he plans to run for reelection in 2024. Two years seems a long way off, especially in light of Biden's suggestion in an interview that aired on Sunday that he "could drop dead tomorrow."

An age-old question

In a recent interview for MSNBC's "The Sunday Show," host Jonathan Capehart mentioned how his aunt Gloria had been a big Biden supporter in 2020 but now has reservations about him running in 2024 on account of his age. Biden is, after all, turning 80 in November, and the CDC announced in August that the average life expectancy for men in the U.S. in 2021 was 73.2.

Capehart asked Biden to explain why people like Gloria, wary about his age, should vote for him in 2024 — even if former President Donald Trump doesn't run again.

Biden replied, "I think it's a legitimate thing to be concerned about anyone's age, including mine. I think that's totally legitimate," adding that "the best way to make the judgment is to uh, to, you know, watch me."

The president outlined telltale signs prospective voters should look for: "Am I slowing up? Am I don't have the same pace? Or, you know, uh, and that old joke, you know, uh ... everybody talks about the, you know, the new 70s, 50s, and all that stuff. You know, I, you know, it could be, I'm a great respecter of fate."

Having meandered onto the topic of fate, Biden warned, "I could get a disease tomorrow. I could drop dead tomorrow."

"In terms of my energy level, in terms of how much I am able to do, I think people should look and say, 'Is he still have the same passion for what he's doing?' And if they think I do and I can do it, then that's fine," he said. "If they don't, they should vote against me,"

Realizing he had suggested that those who are concerned about his age shouldn't vote for him, Biden corrected himself, saying, "Not against me. They should encourage me not to go. But that's not how I feel."

Asked About His Age, Joe Biden Says He's Fine But "Could Get A Disease Tomorrow" And "Drop Dead" youtu.be

'Watch me': Looking for signs of cognitive impairment

It's not just Capehart's aunt paying close attention to Biden's potential mental deterioration.

An August Issues & Insights/TIPP poll revealed that 59% of respondents were "concerned" about Biden's mental health. 36% stated they were "very concerned."

While Republicans expressed greater overall concern, 39% of Democrats nevertheless noted their apprehension.

Biden's so-called gaffes are myriad and responsible, in part, for feeding these apprehensions.

Historian and classicist Victor Davis Hanson wrote earlier this month, "Biden's messaging is even more confused than his medium. On any given day, Biden may impetuously announce that U.S. soldiers will defend the soil of Taiwan, or that the 'killer' Russian President Vladimir Putin, unhinged head of nuclear Russia, must be removed from office promptly."

Hanson noted that whereas former President Donald Trump's "leftist opponents sought to remove him by the 25th Amendment," "the same [leftist] arm-chair psychiatrists offer no such worries about Biden's clear mental decline."

In answer to the question, "How is your mental focus?" posed during a recent "60 Minutes" interview, Biden said, "Look, I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself, my own head, the number of years. I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than fly."

This response was the subject of much scrutiny and ridicule.

\u201cREPORTER: How is your mental focus?\n\nJOE BIDEN: *nervous wheeze* \n\u201cOh focused. Ha ha ha I\u2019d say it\u2019s, it is I haven\u2019t \u2026 here, look. I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself, in my head, the number of years. I no more think of myself being old as I am than fly.\u201d\n\n???\u201d
— Benny Johnson (@Benny Johnson) 1663591441

When responding to a question about why certain Democrat candidates do not want Biden on the campaign trail with them, the president provided an answer that similarly devolved into incoherence.

\u201cThis is so far beyond a gaffe. Biden is dusted.\u201d
— Citizen Free Press (@Citizen Free Press) 1666308340

Gaffes, or clumsy social errors, are not the same as failures of memory, comprehension, or will.

In late September, Biden looked about the room for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), who died this summer in a car crash. Biden was, or ought to have been, cognizant of Walorski's death, considering he previously issued an official statement in which he offered her family his condolences.

\u201c"Jackie, where's Jackie?," Joe Biden says about Rep. Jackie Walorski who died in a car accident a few months ago.\u201d
— Greg Price (@Greg Price) 1664376865

In June, concerns were expressed over Biden's cognitive well-being and autonomy when he accidentally flashed a note card containing detailed instructions delineating his every action, including when to sit down and whom to address.

\u201cJoe Biden:\n\n "I am disappointed in the Supreme Court gun decision...I think it's not reasoned accurately."\u201d
— TheBlaze (@TheBlaze) 1656017240

"I hope this is not true because if it is we need to ask who's in charge of our president," wrote activist Sarah Idan.

Former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller: "White House staff clearly has exceptionally low confidence in Biden’s cognitive abilities. If GOP gains house they will need to hold hearings on Biden’s diminished capacity and subpoena aides to get their testimony under oath."

TheBlaze previously noted that Biden had also:

  • suggested that the 2018 Parkland, Florida, mass shooting had taken place in 1918;
  • spoke to the "selfishness" (contra "selflessness") of American troops;
  • claimed to have cancer in a speech about climate change;
  • demanded a regime change in Russia, which the White house soon had to walk back; and
  • mistook Ukraine for Iran during his State of the Union address.

Dead weight?

According to an Oct. 18 Reuters/Ipsos poll, 54% of Americans disapprove of the president.

A Morning Consult/Politico poll conducted in late September indicated that 45% of registered voters said Biden should "definitely not" run again, and an additional 19% said he should "probably not run."

A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in July showed that 64% of Democrat voters would prefer someone other than Biden. The number of voters under the age of 30 wanting someone else was far higher, figuring at 94%.

Numerous Democrat politicians have sided with Capehart's aunt in publicly voicing their opposition to or skepticism about Biden running again in 2024, including Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).