US President Biden expressed frustration and defiance in response to an investigation into his handling of classified files, which raised questions about his memory.
During an unexpected news briefing on Thursday evening, he emphatically stated, “My memory is fine.”
Biden addressed a specific allegation suggesting he struggled to recall when his son died, rebuking it by saying, “How dare he raise that?” Special Counsel Robert Hur ultimately chose not to pursue charges against Biden for mishandling files.
However, the report contained several critical remarks, including suggestions of “significant limitations” in the president’s memory.
It said that it would be difficult to convict the president of improper handling of files because “at trial, Mr Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”.
Mr Biden responded that despite his age, he was the most qualified person to be president.
Referring to interviews he gave the special counsel late last year, he said: “I was very occupied. I was in the middle of handling an international crisis,” – referring to the 7 October attacks by Hamas in Israel which occurred a day before.
Concerns about Mr. Biden’s age have emerged as a prominent issue among voters leading up to November’s presidential election. During a Thursday evening news conference, when asked to comment on the latest developments in the Gaza war, he inadvertently mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt.
“I think as you know initially, the president of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him,” he said.