“Running for president is essentially the biggest stage in the world. For [Biden] to come out and say ‘I still stutter and it’s fine’ would be an amazing, empowering message.”
On the presidential debate stage, one’s verbal fluency can make or break their performance. Joe Biden’s critics might not know of his lifelong stutter. In the following article, a reporter who shares the experience of stuttering offers reflections on the complexities of managing public attitudes about stuttering, common coping strategies, and the challenging decision of whether or not to disclose one’s stutter to others. These complexities affect all aspects of public life, but they become especially complex and salient when one is running for president of the United States.
