Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testified in Congress on Wednesday, and users of the popular social networking website Twitter have been doing their best to express insightful opinions about his testimony.
There appears to be a consensus forming, for example, that Mueller's performance in front of the House Judiciary Committee was underwhelming to a degree that raises some troubling questions.
Many pundits are suggesting that Mueller, who will turn 75 in August, appears to be suffering from a lack of physical stamina and intellectual agility due to his advanced age. That's bad news for 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, 76, as well as socialist challenger Bernie Sanders, 77. Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who has not definitively ruled out another White House run in 2020, is also very old.
This is delicate to say, but Mueller, whom I deeply respect, has not publicly testified before Congress in at least six years. And he does not appear as sharp as he was then.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) July 24, 2019
.@PeteWilliamsNBC on Mueller's testimony so far: "The years have clearly taken a toll on the Bob Mueller we used to see, and I think that’s affected his ability to be as facile with answering the questions, as perhaps both sides wanted him to be." https://t.co/m9KGQtpbkx pic.twitter.com/jD3DPbFs9x
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 24, 2019
Evident from the early reviews that Republicans and even some Dems and reporters see (and are portraying) Mueller as old and doddering https://t.co/AiJsYzkaPb
— Sam Stein (@samstein) July 24, 2019
From a NYT reporter who has covered Mueller and is watching the hearing: https://t.co/iFwPCp79VB pic.twitter.com/k95b7aqIM3
— Byron York (@ByronYork) July 24, 2019
Mueller’s Low Energy Performance (Member Exclusive) https://t.co/c1Z35OWqqp pic.twitter.com/bKthxard37
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) July 24, 2019
it seems that Robert Mueller is the @Joe_Biden of special counsels: he does not think or express his thoughts with the clarity he used to display. not as effective as many dems had hoped or republicans feared. nothing changes here. #MuellerHearings
— Alex Castellanos (@alexcast) July 24, 2019
Mueller hearing in a nutshell
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) July 24, 2019
If Robert Mueller can barely bumble his way through a congressional testimony at 74, many voters might be left wondering whether Biden and Sanders are fit to serve as president, much less to mount a successful campaign against President Donald J. Trump, who turned 73 in June. A man of legendary stamina whose formidable intellect has laid waste to countless inferior opponents in the past, Trump has been described as "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."