The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harrisdeclared herself capable of governing in the midst of criticism against President Joe Biden for his continued lapses, especially after a report on the withholding of classified documents portrayed him as a “well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.”
“I am prepared to govern. There is no doubt about it”Harris said during an interview last week aboard the presidential plane ‘Air Force Two’ with the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, but published this Monday. He added that everyone who knows how he works knows his leadership “ability.”
Biden defended his mental capacity in the face of a prosecutor’s accusations: “My memory is fine”
Everyone who sees her in office “They leave fully aware of my ability to lead”said Harris, the first Black, South Asian and female vice president in American history.
Biden’s advanced age became a central issue of the November presidential election campaign, much to his chagrin, and he turned the focus to Harris, who would succeed him in office if he resigned or became incapacitated.
US Vice President Kamala Harris said she was ready to serve as a leader in a Wall Street Journal interview published Monday, as voter concerns grow about President Joe Biden’s age in an election year.
What does the special counsel report say that described Biden as a “well-intentioned old man with a bad memory”
Harris’ remarks came two days before special prosecutor Robert Hur concluded in a scathing 400-page report that Biden’s memory is “significantly limited”.
The White House charged the prosecutor for the “gratuitous and inappropriate” criticism of the mental acuity of the 81-year-old president, who sometimes stutters, confuses names and appears very tired.
A special prosecutor claimed that Joe Biden’s memory is “significantly limited”
“When the inevitable conclusion is that the facts and evidence do not support any allegation, one wonders why this report spends time making gratuitous and inappropriate criticism of the president,” said Ian Sams, a spokesman for the general counsel’s office.
“When you are the first special prosecutor in history to not indict anyone, there is pressure to criticize,” he said. He added that there was one comment that deeply offended Biden: “Suggesting that he couldn’t remember when his son died “It’s really out of character,” Sams added.
“I’m ready to serve. There’s no question about it,” Harris told The Wall Street Journal when asked if voters’ concerns about Biden’s age meant she had to convince them of his credentials.
After the publication of the report, Biden told the press that his memory was “fine”although shortly afterwards he confused the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with the Egyptian president, Abdelfatá al Sisi, once again fueling criticism about his state of health.
“I’m well-intentioned, I’m an old man and I know what I’m doing. I’m president and I’m going to put this country back on its feet.” “My memory is good,” he stated, very angry that the report mentions that he forgot the day of his son Beau’s death. “How the hell dare you?” he said.
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Harris herself stated in statements to the press that the prosecutor’s comments, specifically about the date of her son Beau’s death, were “gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate.” Additionally, she called the special counsel’s report “politically motivated.”
“The way the president’s behavior was characterized in that report could not be more factually wrong and was) clearly politically motivated“Harris declared.
Joe Biden’s age was long his Achilles heel, but a special prosecutor’s investigation that suggests he can’t even remember when his son died has made it a potent weapon against him in an election year.
“When it comes to the role and responsibility of a prosecutor in a situation like that, we should expect there to be a higher level of integrity than what we saw,” the vice president said.
For Democratic Senator John Fetterman, it is clear that Hur was intended as a “Trump appointee.” “It was just a smear and a low blow,” he said.
Most Americans believe Biden and Trump are too old to be re-elected
According to a survey of ABC News/Ipsos conducted between February 9 and 10, more than half of the Americans surveyed believe that both Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, are too old to compete for the White House again as they did in 2020.
Specifically, a 59 percent of respondents concludes that both Trump and Biden are no longer qualifiedby age, to lead the country.
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In the particular case of Biden, the percentage is clearly the majority: 86 percent believe that he is too old to be president of the country again, while 62 percent believe that the Republican magnate should not be elected for a second term.
The special prosecutor’s report on the “diminished faculties“Biden encouraged Republicans in their campaign against the Democratic president.
A series of polls show that Biden’s age is one of the biggest concerns for American voters. She would be 82 years old at the beginning of an eventual second term and 86 at the end of it.
In an intervention this Friday before the National Rifle Association, Trump himself allowed himself to comment on Biden’s mental state. “I wonder if he realizes he’s alive,” said the 77-year-old former president.
“A man too incapable of accountability for the mismanagement of classified information is certainly not suitable for the Oval Office,” said the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, close to Trump.
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And playing with a phrase from the report, fellow Republican Congressman Kevin Hern wrote: “A ‘well-intentioned old man with a bad memory’ who has access to the nuclear codes…”
Harris has taken on an increasingly important role in Biden’s re-election campaign, focusing on issues such as abortion, ahead of the November election in which she is expected to face a rematch with former President Donald Trump.
However, in the polls both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have low approval ratings in this campaign for another four years in the White House, possibly challenging Trump at the polls.
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