On Saturday, May 13, 2023, Howard University welcomed President Joe Biden to deliver a commencement address to the 2023 graduates. The speech contained divisive racial speech, anti-MAGA sentiment, wildly exaggerated claims, campaign promises, and the usual anti-voter-fraud sewage spouted by every Democrat when they get more than five minutes in the spotlight.
It would have been just another day, just another speech, and just a little more kindling on the fire of racial division if this speech did not immediately follow Biden’s receipt of an honorary doctorate degree from the university.
The honorary degree was presented by Howard University president Dr. Wayne Frederick. Frederick introduced Biden to the crowd, pointing out to the president that he was “admired for your sound analytical intellect and open embrace for all, your popularity on both sides of the aisle of the United States led to your illustrious reputation and outstanding service of 36 years as a Democratic senator from Delaware beginning at a tender age of 29.”
With so much to unpack in such a short sentence, social media immediately unleashed its full power on the president, the university, and Frederick himself.
One commenter stated, “Was there any part of Biden’s visit that didn’t sound like trolling? Between the ‘popularity on both sides of the aisle’ and Biden’s phony condemnation of ‘those who seek to divide us’ (while his twitter account accuses R’s of shoving grandma off a cliff) this feels like parody.”
Another commentor pointed out simply, “There is no way this guy is talking about Joe Biden…”
The irony of Biden receiving an honorary degree for his “analytical intellect” comes at a time when a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 63% of respondents do not believe the president has the mental acuity to fulfill his job duties. His “popularity on both sides of the aisle” currently stands at an astonishingly low 37% approval rating.
Concerns over the president’s cognitive decline were dragged firmly under a spotlight in April of 2023, when over 60 Republican lawmakers penned a letter demanding Biden take a cognitive ability test or drop out of the 2024 campaign.
“When you first announced your bid to run in the 2020 presidential election, questions and concerns were raised surrounding your cognitive abilities. Those concerns have only increased because your mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent since you were elected,” the letter read. “Over the past two years, public appearances where you shuffle your feet, trip when you walk, slur your words, forget names, lose your train of thought, and appear momentarily confused have become more of a common occurrence. These incidents are so common and noticeable that if you search ‘Biden gaffes’ online, over 14,000,000 results appear.”
Naturally, Democrats, including the president himself, have not responded to the calls for mental acuity testing. Biden has become a punchline on the world stage, embarrassing himself and the United States so frequently that his gaffes have launched a thousand memes.
And it’s only a matter of time before Biden convinces himself he earned a degree from Howard University. As one Twitter poster commented, “Is it now President DOCTOR Biden? Are we now required to ALWAYS refer to him as a DOCTOR? What would Jill say?” Another played along with Biden’s tendency to exaggerate his background, stating, “Oh wow. Now he’s going to say he graduated 3rd in his class from a black HBCU with 2 degrees.”
“Historically Black College/University gives honorary doctorate to old white man instead of the Black Woman that serves under him, makes sense,” pointed out another poster on social media.
Honorary degrees from Howard University are awarded, per the university’s criteria, to “distinguished individuals who merit special recognition for demonstrated achievement and distinction in a field or activity consonant with the mission of Howard University.”
What Biden has done to warrant “special recognition for demonstrated achievement” isn’t clear, unless it is the ability to achieve seemingly endless monumental failures. In a world where Barack Obama received a Nobel Peace Prize, however, it’s clear that merit no longer plays a role in recognition by once-esteemed institutions.
As for the 2023 graduating class of Howard University physicians, future patients can only hope their doctors did more to earn their degrees than Biden.
