President Biden is facing international criticism following a surprise press conference where he defended his mental clarity but stumbled over the identities of world leaders, as reported by various media outlets.
Headlines such as “Joe Biden’s confusion-in-chief: rage of ‘elderly man with poor memory’ who leads free world,” from The Australian, captured the attention of global audiences.
During the press conference, held in response to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, the president addressed concerns about his mental state. However, he inadvertently referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi as the “president of Mexico,” causing alarm both at home and abroad.
Joe Biden (Credits: Mint)
Media outlets like The Mirror in the UK described the event as “Biden hits back at memory loss claims in a fiery speech before making another glaring gaffe.”
Hur’s investigation, which concluded without criminal charges against the president, described Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” This characterization prompted Biden to hold a press conference to tackle worries surrounding his mental acuity.
Domestically, conservative lawmakers and critics seized upon the press conference gaffes, expressing reservations about Biden’s fitness to lead the nation. Representative Wesley Hunt from Texas questioned the contradiction: “Let me get this straight. Biden is too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime, but he’s not too cognitively impaired to be the Commander-in-Chief?”
Internationally, media outlets criticized Biden for his press conference performance and the findings of Hur’s report. Canadian outlet the National Post reported, “Biden’s attempt to defend his memory backfires with new gaffe after classified documents report.”
Hur’s report highlighted instances where Biden exhibited forgetfulness, including uncertainty about past periods of his vice presidency and the timing of his son Beau’s death.
This revelation garnered attention worldwide, with headlines like “Special Counsel Says Biden Is ‘Elderly Man with Poor Memory’, Can’t Recall When His Son Died” from Iran’s Fars News Agency and “Biden faces serious doubts about his health nine months before the presidential election” from France’s Le Monde.
The report’s details fueled concerns about Biden’s capability to fulfill his duties as president, with outlets like the UK’s The Sun noting, “Joe Biden, 81, dodges trial over keeping secret documents due to ‘poor memory.'”
