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US President Joe Biden.
© Samuel Corum/Imago
Biden is increasingly allowing himself to pause during speeches.
Now a report also casts doubt on his health.
The president is angry.
Washington DC - President Joe Biden reacted emotionally and at times angrily Thursday evening to a special adviser's report that cast doubt on his memory.
He addressed the nation hours after the release of the report, which painted a devastating picture of his mental agility even though he would not be charged with mishandling classified documents.
"I'm a well-meaning, older man - and I know what I'm doing," he said in the White House diplomatic reception room, raising his voice at times, wrestling with reporters and giving answers that bordered on sarcasm.
Biden was responding to a remark in the report that he could come across as a “well-meaning, older man with a poor memory.”
The 81-year-old president became particularly emotional as he repeated a line from special counsel Robert K. Hur's report that claimed he could not remember the year his son Beau died.
Beau Biden died of cancer in 2015 while his father was still vice president.
"There's even a suggestion that I don't remember when my son died," Biden said.
“How the hell dare he mention that?”
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Biden health report: President angered by mention of son
The president said he remembers his son's death every day.
“Honestly, when I was asked the question, I figured it was none of their damn business,” he said.
“I don’t need anyone to remind me when he died.”
As the highlight of a turbulent afternoon, the White House scheduled the speech at short notice and only informed reporters 20 minutes before the speech.
Biden's aides appeared surprised by the furore the report about his memory had sparked, saying his memory was "significantly impaired" and that he had "limited accuracy and recall."
Privately, Biden was also angry about what the report said about his memory.
During a private meeting with House Democrats at their political retreat in Virginia on Thursday, Biden became particularly animated when asked how he was doing.
“How the hell could I forget the day my son died?
Of course I remember everything,” he said, according to two people familiar with his comments who wished to remain anonymous.
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Biden's Health: Special Counsel Report Prompts President's Emotional Reaction
In his speech at the White House, Biden began by emphasizing that the report concluded that the allegations were unfounded and even cited specific page numbers to support his point.
“I was pleased that the report firmly concluded that no charges should be brought against me in this case,” the president said.
“This was a thorough investigation.”
He also pointed to a separate investigation into former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents and the differences between the two cases - particularly that Trump allegedly tried to keep the documents even when authorities demanded them back, and that he , unlike Biden, is now facing criminal charges.
“I was particularly pleased that the special prosecutor made clear the difference between this case and Mr. Trump’s,” Biden said.
When he was later asked whether he accepted responsibility for his careless handling of classified information, he largely referred to his employees.
Concerns about Biden's health: President downplays concerns
“I take responsibility for not seeing exactly what my staff was doing,” Biden said.
“Things that showed up in my garage, things that came out of my house, things that were moved - were not moved by me, but by my employees.
From my employees.”
He later added: "I didn't know how half the boxes got into my garage until I found out that the staff collected them, put them together and put them in the garage." His house is a private residence, unlike Trump's Mar-a-Lago, which also serves as a members' club.
“It was in my house,” he said.
“It wasn’t like Mar-a-Lago in a public place.”
The comments underscored a remarkable moment in Biden's presidency.
The nation's oldest president battled voters' concerns about his age as he prepared for re-election against his predecessor - who, at 77, is also older - only to see a prosecutor's document unexpectedly and, like his Consultants say gratuitously renewed these concerns in a stark way.
During his speech, Biden spoke without a teleprompter.
He fielded questions from a lively press corps and even returned to the lectern to answer additional questions posed to him.
He repeatedly downplayed voters' concerns about his age and dismissed claims that he had declined mentally.
Biden wants to have a good memory: But a few minutes later the next misfire comes
"Look, my memory hasn't faded - my memory is fine," he said.
“Look at what I’ve done since I’ve been president.
None of you thought I could accomplish any of the things I did.
How could that happen?
You know, I guess I just forgot what was going on.
At a time when some Democrats expressed concern about the risks of his nomination, he was asked why it had to be him.
“I am the most qualified person in this country to be president of the United States and finish the job I started,” Biden responded.
However, when he returned to answer a final question and criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in perhaps his harshest form yet, he appeared to verbally stumble again.
When he spoke about aid to Palestinians facing an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, he referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi but misstated the country he represents.
“As you know, the President of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open the gate to let in humanitarian materials,” Biden said.
"I talked to him.
I convinced him to open the gate.”
Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Marianna Sotomayor contributed to this report.
To the authors
Matt Viser
is a White House reporter at The Washington Post.
He joined the Post in October 2018 and covered the midterms and 2020 presidential election before moving to the White House to cover President Biden's administration.
He previously served as deputy Washington bureau chief for the Boston Globe.
Tyler Pager
is a White House reporter at The Washington Post.
He joined the newspaper in 2021 after covering the White House at Politico and the 2020 presidential campaign at Bloomberg News.
He was awarded the 2022 Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on February 9, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.