Concerns over President Joe Biden’s age were highlighted by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who urged the White House to address the matter head-on in the forthcoming 2024 election.
The president’s dwindling poll numbers are a result of persistent concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity, Clinton told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner.
The special counsel Robert Hur’s report was released, which rekindled debates regarding Biden’s age and mental health in relation to his eligibility to serve in office.
Hur said that even while Biden shouldn’t be charged with a crime for handling sensitive data, he was a “elderly man with a poor memory.”
Hur’s description was sharply contested by Biden, who insisted that his memory is still intact and expressed confidence in his skills.
During a press conference at the White House on Thursday night, Biden denied any wrongdoing in handling secret material and vehemently disputed Hur’s critiques of his memory, especially in relation to his recall of the date of his late son Beau’s death from illness.
However, the special counsel’s report mostly focused on providing an explanation for why it did not recommend criminal charges, despite evidence that Hur discovered showed Biden had purposefully maintained and transmitted highly secret information to a ghostwriter.
The report listed obstacles to satisfying the prosecution standard, such as uncertainties over the veracity of Biden’s objective. Biden’s senior age, which is linked to forgetfulness, was also mentioned as a factor that affected the choice.
Clinton said to Wagner in the interview, “I talked to people in the White House all the time, and you know, they know it’s an issue.” “That’s a real problem. For Trump, who is only three years younger, this is a real problem. Thus, there is a problem.”
Clinton said that Biden ought to value his wealth of experience in both politics and other areas of life. She encouraged him to highlight his extensive knowledge and comprehension gained from a variety of life experiences.
“I believe that Biden should also capitalize on his experience, which extends beyond the political sphere. It’s just the stuff of human experience, as Clinton put it. “I think he should be willing to really pull that out … and I think he should care more about it.”
The debate over Biden’s age is a reflection of larger worries about the leadership’s ability to govern successfully among voters and inside the Democratic Party. The topic of age and mental acuity is likely to continue to be a hot topic of discussion in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
The Biden administration needs to confront the growing amount of scrutiny surrounding the president’s age and cognitive capacities in order to reassure voters and keep their trust as the political climate changes ahead of the 2024 presidential election.