It might appear like writing more stories about Joe Biden’s public mental meltdowns is like beating a dead horse. Biden’s embarrassing lapses and confusion are so common it seems like they wouldn’t even be newsworthy any longer.

The opposite is true. The more often Biden fumbles and rambles, the more concerned Americans should be about his fitness for the office of president. The cumulative effect is devastating.

In the latest episode, Biden attempted to read a few lines of a poem off a teleprompter. It was too great a task for him. Even after starting over, Biden still flubbed the delivery.

On Tuesday, Biden and first lady Jill Biden were hosting an arts and humanities award ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

To add to the oddity of the event, it was actually the 2021 National Humanities Medals and the National Medals of Arts being presented. The previous ceremony was rescheduled due to the pandemic, as reported by the U.K Independent.

The medals are officially described in high-flown language, like honoring "outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States" or saluting "those whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities."

But as usual with this crowd, political considerations dominated.

Progressive virtue-signalers like musician Bruce Springsteen, actress Julia Louise Dreyfus and comedian Mindy Kaling were on hand to be rewarded as loyal shills.

There is nothing unusual about Biden reading a prepared speech from a teleprompter; many politicians use them. The problem for Biden is that even when he uses a teleprompter, he still constantly messes it up, though the words are right in front of him.

These erratic attempts at communication aren’t just one-off occurrences. They’ve come to define Biden’s administration.

The awards presentation got awkward as Biden struggled to read a few lines from Richard Blanco’s poem "One Today," originally presented in 2013 at the second inauguration of then-President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

Blanco, whom the Obama White House described as “the gay son of Cuban exiles,” was at the ceremony to receive a humanities medal. It must have been a disconcerting moment for the gay son of Cuban exiles to listen as Biden managed to mangle his simple words.

As RNC Research noted on a video clip shared on Twitter, Biden’s effort did not go well.

Biden attempts to read a poem from his giant teleprompter — and it doesn't go well pic.twitter.com/kOkvB0DyOE

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 21, 2023

(It suggested the famous scene from the 1985 movie "Amadeus," where the court composer Antonio Salieri had to listen as Emperor Joseph II butchered the "Welcome March" Salieri had written in honor of Mozart.)

The most cringe moment Tuesday may have been when Biden announced he was starting over, and then still misquoted the text he was reading. One Twitter user captured the vibe perfectly: "When he says 'Let me start over' the entire room goes 'Oh please, no.'"

When he says “Let me start over” the entire room goes “Oh please, no.”

— Doug Bright (@DougBright1) March 21, 2023

Other social media users were more blunt:

Holy Smokes..... https://t.co/IkGenD4Vy8

— Clint S (@clint_stockton) March 21, 2023

I can’t take it anymore

— Lidia waycaster (@LidiaWaycaster) March 21, 2023

Another Twitter user put the incident in context: It’s not really Biden’s fault at this point, but the unknown handlers and operators running the presidency in Biden’s name who cause these shameful spectacles.

“It’s actually really sad that they keep putting him in this position of…..president!" the user wrote. "Shame on his wife, his doctors and everyone standing behind him saying he’s totally fine.”

It’s actually really sad that they keep putting him in this position of…..president! Shame on his wife, his doctors and everyone standing behind him saying he’s totally fine 🤦🏻‍♀️

— Michelle (@nlmb11) March 21, 2023

It is a sad reality that someone this incompetent has the title of president, as he does not have the ability to fulfill the duties of the office.

Biden’s supporters used to claim Biden overcame a stutter, and that was the source of his misstatements. This is not a stutter, it is something much worse.

Trying to read doggerel off a screen is about the easiest task a president could face. Imagine how poorly Biden performs in addressing serious matters.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.