Panic among Democrats: Biden described as a ‘well-meaning elderly man with poor memory’

THERE was some good news for the White House last Thursday (Feb 8) when the Department of Justice released the special counsel’s 345-page report on President Joe Biden’s retention and handling of classified documents after he left the vice-presidency in 2017.

Special Counsel Robert Hur concluded that despite what he had done, the president would not be prosecuted. That contrasted with how former president Donald Trump was dealt with for similar allegations. Unlike his successor in office, Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents and for obstructing efforts by the government to get them back.

But, what could have been a good day for the White House turned into a very, very bad day when the entire report by Hur was released.

It included damaging details about President Biden’s cognitive issues, drawing a portrait of an elderly president overcome with serious memory problems, including forgetting when he served as vice-president and the year his son Beau Biden died.

The report suggested that even if what President Biden had done with respect to the classified documents warranted an indictment after he leaves the presidency, a jury would be reluctant to convict “a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory”.

The White House protested the report’s conclusion and aides noted that Hur is a Republican who was nominated to his position by Trump, who is making his third bid for the presidency this year.

But, in a way, the efforts of “damage control” by the aides probably ended up just as damaging to the president as the report itself.

The 81-year-old Biden arrived in the Diplomatic Reception Room on Thursday night for a press conference aiming to demonstrate to reporters and to the American people that what was said about him in the report was false, that his memory was perfect, and that he was in charge.

“I am well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I’m doing,” he declared. “I’ve been president,” he insisted. “I put this country back on its feet.”

But then, the press conference became chaotic, with the president being interrupted by shouts from reporters. He had difficulty characterising the special counsel’s conclusions and, at one point, referred to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt as the leader of Mexico.

In the same week, President Biden confused foreign leaders whom he had met during public events. On Wednesday, he misstated which German leader he met, saying he spoke in 2021 with Helmut Kohl, who had died in 2017, rather than Angela Merkel. Days earlier, he had confused the current French president, Emmanuel Macron, with his predecessor Francois Mitterrand who had died in 1996.

It’s no wonder that a sense of alarm is now reigning among the Democratic Party’s activists and donors.

Opinion polls have made it clear that a majority of American voters, including many Democrats, believe that Biden is too old to run for office, and would prefer to see another Democratic candidate running for office.

All this is happening against the backdrop of numerous opinion polls that suggest that Trump – who is now cruising towards the Republican presidential nomination – could beat President Biden in the races in several key electoral states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada and Arizona, in November.

On Thursday, the anti-Trump camp suffered a blow during the US Supreme Court hearing of oral arguments about whether Trump was an “insurrectionist” who should be disqualified from the ballot in Colorado because of his role in the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

During their deliberations, the justices, including the liberal members, raised serious doubts about the ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court to keep Trump off the ballot, and appeared headed to a decision, with a strong majority, in favour of candidate Trump.

Adding to Biden’s political problems are the growing number of third-party challengers threatening to spoil his re-election chances. They include several left-leaning liberals led by Robert F Kennedy Jr from the famous political family, as well as environmental activist Jill Stein and African-American scholar Cornel West.

The three could potentially cut into Biden’s support among left-leaning young Democrats and African-Americans who, among other things, have been critical of Biden’s strong support for Israel during the Gaza war.

President Biden’s backing for Israel could also hurt him among members of the large Arab-American community in the key electoral state of Michigan, who could vote for either of the three third-party candidates or stay at home on election day.

In practical terms, even if Biden, who is facing growing concerns in his party, were to decide at the eleventh hour to withdraw from the race, it is not clear if any of the other Democrats mentioned as a possible presidential candidate would be able to beat Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, in November.

One of those seen as a viable Democrat contender, Gavin Newsom, the telegenic governor of California, is leading a state beset by economic and social problems.