Gaffe-smothered Biden laughs off the idea he should take a cognitive test, backs out of attending Democratic convention on Covid-19 fears

Joe Biden won't be traveling to Milwaukee as planned to accept the Democratic presidential nomination - he and other scheduled speakers at the party's national convention will give their speeches remotely, due to Covid-19 fears.

"From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said Wednesday.

"We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That's the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves. And that's the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House."

Perez didn't explain how Biden's presence at a 188,000-square-foot venue with attendance limited to about 300 at next month's scaled-down convention would jeopardize lives. Nor did he give details on how or where the candidate would give his acceptance speech. The convention begins on August 17.

Biden traveled to Houston in June to meet with the family of George Floyd, the black man whose May 25 death in Minneapolis police custody set off a wave of anti-racism protests across the country. He has given speeches in recent weeks in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, but his campaign has been largely run remotely from his home, leading to quips from Republicans that Biden is being hidden in his basement until election day to cover up his incompetence.

"OK. Joe Biden is not even campaigning, won't go to the DNC, has no VP. WTF is this?" independent journalist Tim Pool asked on Twitter. Other critical posters questioned whether Biden was sick or incapacitated and mocked his low-profile campaign strategy, such as one user who said, "Translation: I am not a serious candidate. I need to have my leash on when I speak, and I can do this if I stay at home."