On February 25, 1985, Russian people went to the polls for one-party regional elections, and as usual, top officials cast ballots in people.
Konstantin Chernenko, the general director of the Communist Party of the USSR, made a public ballot-casting announcement, as was typical for senior Russian leaders, even if only on live television. Because he had been out of the public gaze for two months, his performance was carefully anticipated.
He was shown at a Kremlin voting stop, presumably. Surrounded by federal officials and magazine photography, he stood up and leaned on an secretary. He looked haggard. He mumbled a few welcome. Instead of reassuring citizens that the USSR was in good hands the telecast created an unsettling mix global: Who, exactly, is in charge of the huge, one-party, nuclear-armed condition?
In 2024, the United States, basically an open political structure in which such a scene could never take place, is facing a similar, if somewhat drawn-out episode over its leader’s health. Joe Biden, a clearly frail and perplexed president, made a clumsy appearance at a discussion next month with his political rival, former president Donald Trump. Since then, his self-awareness as a worthy leader has disintegrated, according to beneficial media reports and public statements from members of his party.
Former supporters, who want him to be replaced in the poll, are now putting him under assault.
The comparison to the defunct USSR has been drawn between the Biden situation and the frail Communist leaders of the 1980s, Chernenko being the last of three ill top officials to pass away in office.
Harold James, a Princeton University historian, wrote an essay titled” Slow Soviet America” four years ago, describing the US as in a period of Communist political decay. ” If it was n’t obvious already, the whole world now knows that the US lacks any strategic orientation or cohesive executive leadership”, James wrote.
Last month, liberal pundit Niall Ferguson offered an upgrade. He outlined US weaknesses in the Soviet Union, including being overburdened by international obligations, having an outdated defense, falling education and health standards, and having low economic productivity in a heavily indebted world.
” Could you tell me about another innovative world where living standards declined, mortality levels rose, where 100, 000 people a month die of addictions? I may just think of one another case, and that’s the Soviet Union”? Ferguson asked.  ,
The Soviet-comparison is supported by the generations of the most influential figures when they passed away. Leonid Brezhnev, 82, had been sick for at least two centuries. His son, Yuri Andropov, was merely 68, but died after paying just 15 months in office after suffering severe brain issues.  ,
Chernenko had long bouts of heart problems, heart disease, and liver cirrhosis, and had only been alive for two weeks when he visited the Potemkin ballot box. He had only been alive for 11 months.
Biden, age 81, passed away on Tuesday with Covid for the next moment. Trump is 78.
The mysterious USSR regularly kept its officials ‘ health information secret. Their deaths, when announced, frequently led to intrigue and cruel power struggles. After Josef Stalin’s death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev eliminated his best enemy, secret police captain Laventriy Beria, by having him executed for treason. The day of Chernenko’s next public look, a dapper Mikhail Gorbachev even appeared on TV at a real vote field, in the presence of Russian and foreign writers. He had already been signing off on government decrees in Chernenko’s name.
Intrigue is a hallmark of efforts to halt Biden’s unsuccessful bid for the presidency and his refusal to support both. His geriatric conditions were kept out of the news by news organizations that had favored him over Donald Trump in the presidential election in 2020 prior to the debate.
Some of the same outlets demanded that he leave the reelection stage after the debate was over. A broadcaster acknowledged Biden’s mental health was in decline two years prior to the notorious debate performance in an odd admission to CNN, the news network.
” This is one of those, you know, it’s the classic open secret”, said longtime CNN political reporter Chuck Todd. Everyone was afraid to talk about it because it’s the story everyone knows and it’s the one they were afraid to share it with.
After the debacle, Biden went on a whirlwind tour of political rallies and radio and television appearances. He promised to run and triumph.
Verbal missteps marred his performances. He introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his arch-enemy Russian President Vladimir Putin at the NATO summit he hosted in Washington. ” And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination”, Biden intoned. ” Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin”.
He also referred to his own Vice President, Kamala Harris, as” Vice President Trump”.
Public statements and unidentified leaks to newspapers and television reveal the political assault on Biden by his own Democratic Party. Biden has been asked to leave the campaign by at least 20 congressional members and two senators. It’s a complicated request.
Biden has already surpassed his party’s threshold in nomination races to claim victory at the Democratic Party’s upcoming convention. In order to start the convention, Biden would have to ban his supporters from casting ballots. Will his current vice president resign and leave the Biden voters behind? Her supporters are already warning party leaders against trying to oust her in favor of someone else.
A number of media leaks have revealed efforts by senior party officials to persuade Biden to leave. The role of former Congressional leader Nancy Pelosi is at the forefront of these reports. Biden and she have been discussing leaving.
Pelosi is a legendary fundraiser for Democratic candidates, so her efforts reflect the opinion of skeptical, rich backers of the party.
There has n’t been any public skepticism from Biden about whether or not he’s willing to drop out, though some of the most recent reports suggest that.
The president stated in his most recent interview that he would only resign if doctors told him, adding that “age can impart a little wisdom.” Presumably, that should mean Pelosi and her advice win the wisdom contest. After all, she is 84 years old.