The Japan Times - Deja vu? Trump accused of economic denial and physical decline

Joe Biden? No, it's Donald Trump.

The Republican, back in power for nearly a year, continues to compare himself to his predecessor.

Biden would be senile, while Trump brims with energy; the Democrat would have driven the country into bankruptcy, but the Republican presides over an economic "golden age" - so Trump says.

At a Pennsylvania rally on Tuesday, Trump uttered his rival's name more than 20 times and even called him a "sleepy son of a bitch."

Yet for the past few weeks, a strong sense of deja vu has colored the billionaire's presidency.

Some of his statements, in the unabashed style that is his hallmark, echo remarks made by Biden.

"America has the best economy in the world," the Democratic president declared in April 2024, a statement running counter to voters’ perceptions.

The US economy deserves "A+++++", Trump declared in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday.

He repeated that prices are falling, even though Americans still complain about the high cost of living.

"There will always be a portion of his supporters that are going to be with him regardless. If he says the sky is not blue, then they will agree that the sky is not blue," said Alex Keena, a political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

But "that's not the majority of the American public," the researcher told AFP. "At the end of the day, people will go out and they will buy things and their experiences are undeniable."

- 31 percent -

According to a poll by the University of Chicago for the Associated Press, published Thursday, only 31 percent of Americans are satisfied with Trump's economic policy.

"When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year ago?" Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social network.

While campaigning, Trump accused Biden of ignoring the struggles of low-income households.

Like his predecessor, Trump today is trying to steer some of consumers' discontent toward big corporations suspected of inflating prices.

Like Biden, he is also struggling to generate enthusiasm for his plans to bolster purchasing power.

And like the former president, Trump is dogged by questions about his health, though not as intensely as concerns about his rival's decline -- which Trump himself has fueled.

- Blue on the hand -

By portraying Biden as an old man unfit to govern, Trump is "tapping into a very real frustration" over the aging of America's political class, Keena noted.

But this strategy could backfire on Trump, the oldest president ever elected in the United States.

The 79-year-old is now the one whose every public appearance is scrutinized, and who is being attacked on social media.

On Thursday, for example, a fake photo showing him with a walker circulated.

Was that Trump nodding off during this cabinet meeting, or was he resting his eyes for a moment? And was that bandaged bruise on the back of his hand really the result of countless handshakes, as the White House keeps saying?

Biden's team had furiously denied allegations of declining health, but also increasingly shielded the octogenarian president from public view and journalists' questions.

Trump, for his part, remains much more accessible than his predecessor ever was and frequently engages in lengthy impromptu exchanges with the press.

But beware, anyone who dares -- as the New York Times recently did -- to investigate his work pace and vitality.

"I actually believe it's seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean 'THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,'" he wrote on Truth Social.

K.Yamaguchi--JT