The American president, Joe Biden, spoke this Thursday, February 8, in a press conference called at the last minute, after learning of a prosecutor's report in which the president's memory problems were pointed out. In his statement, Biden, visibly angry, assured that he does not have memory problems. “I'm an older man and I know what I'm doing,” he defended.
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“How the hell dare you bring that up?”the US president, Joe Biden, said angrily during a press conference called at the last minute on Thursday, February 8, in which he responded to the report of a prosecutor who repeatedly questions his memory.
Biden, who at 81 years old is seeking re-election, assured that his memory “is fine” and criticized some of the points in the report of the special prosecutor, Robert Hur, who decided not to file charges against the president, despite concluding that he retained intentionally classified documents from his time as vice president.
In the document presented by the prosecutor after the investigation, he assures that Biden showed a “significantly limited memory” during the interrogations that took place in 2023. The prosecutor also described the president as an “older man, with good intentions and a bad memory.”
Hours after learning of that document, in an unscheduled press conference at the White House, the president responded, visibly upset, that some statements by the special prosecutor about his memory are erroneous and denied that there were intentionally classified documents.
“I have good intentions, I'm an old man, and I know what the hell I'm doing,” Biden answered a journalist's question.
“I didn't break the law. Period”
“Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden withheld and voluntarily disclosed classified material after his Vice Presidency,” the prosecutor's document stated.
But, Biden insisted this Thursday on his innocence: “I did not break the law. Period.”
“I take responsibility for not checking exactly what my staff was doing. They were coming and going. Some things showed up in my garage, some things came out…” he added.
The special prosecutor said that prosecuting Biden in this case was “unjustified, taking into consideration the aggravating and mitigating factors” and detailed that the evidence “does not establish the guilt” of the president “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Biden has been the subject of investigation for a year, when classified documents from the time he was Barack Obama's vice president (2009-2017) were found in his Delaware home and in a private office.
The documents were found by Biden's lawyers in November and December 2022, and immediately delivered to the National Archives, the organization that must safeguard them, after which the Department of Justice opened an investigation.
A lapse in his press conference
In explaining his decision not to file charges against the president, the special prosecutor focused on the president's “memory” and even assured that, during interrogations, he did not remember the dates on which he held the Vice Presidency and had difficulty remembering the date. of the death of his son Beau, in 2015.
“How the hell dare you bring that up?” Biden snapped.
Despite his vehement statement, the press conference triggered some comments because, while the president defended his mental health, at one point in the intervention, when he was addressing another topic, he confused the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with that of Egypt, Abdelfatah al-Sisi.
Doubts about his age in the middle of the campaign
Although Biden was cleared of charges, the prosecutor's conclusions represent a serious blow to his re-election campaign since they underline the poor memory of the president, who is seeking a new term at 81 years old.
Precisely, Biden's age has generated division among voters, some of whom doubt that he can face a new mandate. Analysts consulted by France 24 consider that Biden, the oldest president in the history of the United Stateshas the great challenge of convincing voters that he can last four more years in office, amid, in addition, his low approval ratings.
a survey from Yahoo News/YouGov, released January 30, points out that, although there is resignation regarding the consolidation of Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, the low enthusiasm is evident among the voters consulted (1,594 American adults), especially due to their age: only 33% believe that they are “in conditions to fulfill another mandate”; while a majority (56%) says no.
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