Tipsheet

Indignant Biden Triples Down in Wake of Scathing Special Counsel Report

In a previously unscheduled address to the nation from the White House on Thursday evening, an angry President Joe Biden sought to respond to the bombshell report from Special Counsel Robert Hur and insisted "my memory is fine" while attacking Hur for some items included in the report.

"How in the hell dare he raise that," an angry Biden said of the portion of Hur's report that stated Biden "did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died." That matter, the president said, is "none of their damn business."

"For any extraneous commentary, they don't know what they're talking about," Biden insisted, despite the report directly quoting Biden's confused answers. "It has no place in this report," declared Biden. "The bottom line is the matter is now closed and I can continue what I've always focused on: my job of being the president of the United States of America."

Responding to questions from the White House press corps, Biden insisted "I know what the hell I'm doing" and told Fox News Channel's Peter Doocy "my memory's so bad that I let you speak," before again stating "my memory is fine."

Despite the damning contents of Hur's report, Biden defiantly declared "I'm the most qualified person in this country to be the president of the United States."

Biden then moved on to questions on other topics and promptly proceeded to confuse the presidents of Egypt and Mexico while renewing his smears against Israel's response to the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.

The real question is who thought trotting Biden out for this was a good idea. 

The remarks, announced with scant notice Thursday night, come after Special Counsel Robert Hur released a report on his investigation of Biden's mishandling of classified documents after leaving office. And while Hur declined to bring charges for Biden's actions, the report was seemingly more damning to the president than an indictment would have been, explaining that Biden is "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" that a jury would be unlikely to convict. Hur's report also noted that Biden "did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended...and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began." Biden also "did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."

Where things go from here is anyone's guess. President Biden and his White House are clearly at a crossroads as the president's governance and 2024 re-election campaign look to be on life support. Americans continue to reject Biden's agenda — from the border crisis and the economy to international chaos that's sprung up on Biden's watch. While White House aides scramble from one crisis to the next, it seems Biden — if he can't even recall when his son died — is blissfully unaware of the trouble his administration is in. 

Earlier on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tried to tamp down questions about President Biden's repeated reference to conversations with world leaders who were already dead at the time he said he met with them. Her spin: pivoting to invoke January 6 and claiming that everyone "misspeaks." 

This is a developing story and may be updated.