Joe Biden’s allies said attacks on the president’s age were a “bucket of BS” after a report questioned his mental capabilities.
Last week, the president was hit with fresh attacks on his fitness for the Oval Office when special prosecutor Robert Hur’s ruling on his handling of classified documents said he had a “significantly limited,” “poor,” and “fuzzy” memory.
While Justice Department official Mr. Hur chose not to pursue criminal charges against Mr. Biden, his comments prompted the 81-year-old to hold a terse press conference to defend oneself.
Photo: AP
Speaking to NBC News, Sky News’ US partner network, the president’s senior adviser Mitch Landrieu denounced claims that Mr Biden was “not ready for this job” and called attacks on his age a “just a bucket of crap” and “underneath.” the belt”.
He added: “I’ve known him for 30 years. I’ve met him personally. I’ve met him with two people, five people, 10 people.
“I traveled with him, crisscrossing the country, rebuilding America based on this incredible infrastructure bill that passed. And I tell you, this guy is tough. He’s smart. He’s in his game.”
Asked about polls suggesting that Democratic voters want to see a change of candidate in the next election, Mr. Landrieu said: “The only thing that Joe Biden which he will never do, and count on it, he will never stop.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also told NBC: “The hardest part of a meeting with President Biden is preparing for it because he is sharp, intensely thorough, detail-oriented and concentrate.”
The 400-page report claimed that Mr. Biden could not remember in interviews when he was vice president or when his son, Beau, had died.
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The White House held a press conference to defend the president against “free remarks” on his memoryand Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday that the report “could not be more factually wrong and (is) clearly politically motivated.”
The comments follow a series of gaffes made in recent days by Mr. Biden, including during his latest press conference on the report, during which he confused the presidents of Egypt and Mexico.
Monday of last week he designated French President Emmanuel Macron as François Mitterranddied in 1996, and on Tuesday he appeared to forget the name Hamas while discussing the war in Gaza.
Mr. Biden also confused former German Chancellor Angela Merkel with one of her predecessors Helmut Kohl Wednesday.
A White House spokesperson later said: “Many people, elected officials… can sometimes be wrong. »
