Joe Biden’s meltdown about the findings of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into the president’s mishandling of classified materials didn’t just occur at the White House. Sure, that’s where millions saw the president become visibly angry and frustrated that the report documented his memory lapses, which include not remembering when his son, Beau, died.
The report is going to damage his 2024 campaign. It brought a voter concern to the forefront, and the only good news is that Election Day is far away. The problem is that the issue might not dissipate as Biden cannot become younger—he’s not Benjamin Button. Biden vented privately among Democrats at their retreat in Virginia Thursday afternoon, where the president was dropping F-bombs over the report’s summary (via WaPo):
NEW w/ @MariannaReports: Biden blew up in a private meeting with some House Democrats earlier Thursday.
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) February 9, 2024
When he was asked how he was doing, he said, “How the fuck could I forget the day my son died? Of course I remember everything,” per two people familiar with his comments.
Joe Biden furiously erupts in private closed-door meeting after special counsel exposes his deteriorated mental state:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 9, 2024
"How would I f**ing forget THAT?!" pic.twitter.com/0b9VrSC9e1
Privately, Biden was also furious about the report’s comments on his memory. During a private meeting with House Democrats at their policy retreat in Virginia earlier Thursday, Biden grew especially animated when asked how he was doing.
“How the f--- could I forget the day my son died? Of course I remember everything,” he said, according two people with knowledge of his remarks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a closed-door conversation.
At his White House remarks, Biden began by stressing that the report concluded that charges were not merited, even citing specific page numbers to bolster his case.
“I was pleased to see he reached the firm conclusion that no charges should be brought against me in this case,” the president said. “This was an exhaustive investigation.”
He also highlighted a separate investigation into former president Donald Trump’s own handling of classified documents, and the differences between them — notably that Trump allegedly sought to keep the documents even when authorities asked for them back and that he, unlike Biden, now faces criminal charges.
We’ll see. With the Hur report, Trump’s legal team may file a selective prosecution motion. Whether it is successful is another matter, but this report has given the former president’s team an avenue to debate this option.
Biden cannot do the job. Democrats tried to pivot, saying his seething at the podium and yelling at the press showed fight and swagger. It’s also a behavior exhibited by those who have lost more than just a step and cannot keep up. Also, didn’t such unhinged displays constitute an unfit temperament for the office? Biden has always been cranky—that doesn’t mean he isn’t senile. Staffers are dressed down brutally, with a reported buddy system for aides to lean on when chewed out by Mr. Magoo.
All the Democratic pivots cannot neutralize that Biden is old, his memory is shot, and the more he tries to tackle it publicly, the more issues it creates. The man doesn’t have the skill or the speed to pull off a political ploy like this. He might have never had it—it’s not hard to get elected from Delaware as a Democrat.
Biden's lawyers wrote to Hur asking that he revise descriptions of the President's memory - notable given voter concerns about his mental capacity. pic.twitter.com/Eke92sZH2s
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 8, 2024
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