The Special Counsel's report on Biden's handling of classified documents may have just inadvertently ended the President's re-election efforts. The report, released on Feb 5th, 2024 by Special Counsel Robert Hur, frequently references Biden's age-related cognitive decline.^[1]

Quotes from the report (emphasis ours):

"Mr. Biden's memory was significantly limited, both during his recorded interviews with the ghostwriter in 2017, and in his interview with our office in 2023." (Page 5)

"Given Mr. Biden's limited precision and recall during his interviews with his ghostwriter and with our office, jurors may hesitate to place too much evidentiary weight on a single eight-word utterance to his ghostwriter about finding classified documents in Virginia, in the absence of other, more direct evidence." (Page 5-6)

"We have also considered that, 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." (Page 6)

"Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him - by then a former president well into his eighties - of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness." (Page 6)

"Mr. Biden's memory also appeared to have significant limitations - both at the time he spoke to Zwonitzer in 2017, as evidenced by their recorded conversations, and today, as evidenced by his recorded interview with our office. Mr. Biden's recorded conversations with Zwonitzer from 2017 are often painfully slow, with Mr. Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries." (Page 207)

"In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden's memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended ("if it was 2013 - when did I stop being Vice President?"), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began ("in 2009, am I still Vice President?")." (Page 208)

"He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died." (Page 208)

"And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he "had a real difference" of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Eiden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama." (Page 208)

"We also believe some of the same evidence that supports reasonable doubt for the classified Afghanistan documents also supports reasonable doubt for the notebooks, including Mr. Biden's cooperation with the investigation, his diminished faculties in advancing age, and his sympathetic demeanor." (Page 242)

The report comes at a bad time for President Biden, whose approval ratings are already suffering. A recent NBC poll found a combined 76% of voters say they have major concerns (62%) or moderate concerns (14%) about Biden not having the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term.^[2]

In an attempt to reassure voters of his mental fitness in the wake of the damning report, Biden held an impromptu press conference where he took questions from reporters. Unfortunately, the press conference served as further confirmation of the President's cognitive decline.

During the event, Biden snapped at a reporter who pointed out Americans' concerns about his age and declared that he was “the most qualified person" in the United States to be president:

"[The] American people have been watching and they have expressed concerns about your age..."

BIDEN (confused and angry): "That is YOUR JUDGMENT!" pic.twitter.com/1Jd0R70uy8

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 9, 2024

Biden also made several mental blunders, including mixing up the presidents of Egypt and Mexico:

Biden says, on the Israel vs. Hamas war: "Initially, the president of Mexico Sisis did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in."

The Rafah Gate is the border of Gaza & Egypt, not Gaza & Mexico. Sisi is the President of Egypt, not President of Mexico pic.twitter.com/ZN8caYLnvM

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 9, 2024

He couldn't remember the name of the church where his deceased son got the rosary that he wears every day:

.@POTUS: "There's even reference that I don't remember when my son died."

"How in the hell dare he raise that?"

"Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, it wasn't any of their damned business." pic.twitter.com/4vLr71HeFx

— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) February 9, 2024

Biden's cognitive decline is clear to anyone who watches him on camera. The President's mental fitness is – and should be – a concern for all voters, regardless of party affiliation.

 

References

1. Report on the Investigation Into Unauthorized Removal, Retention, and Disclosure of Classified Documents Discovered at Locations Including the Penn Eiden Center and the Delaware Private Residence of President Joseph R. Eiden, Jr. Special Counsel Robert K. Hur. February 2024.

2. Study #240037 NBC News Survey. Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies. January 2024.