Concerns on ‘diminished faculties’
If Democrats believe Donald Trump is an existential threat to American democracy, why do they insist on sending a weakened 81-year-old Joe Biden into battle against him? That question became a bit more urgent last week.
On Thursday, special counsel Robert Hur issued his report on Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. It was both damning and worrisome regarding the president’s fitness for office.
Hur declined to bring charges against Biden, although he concluded the president had “willfully” retained and disclosed classified documents after leaving the vice presidency seven years ago. Hur suggested that Biden’s cooperation was a factor in his leniency.
But he also noted that Biden’s fading mental state was in play.
The report found that the president was a “well-meaning elderly man with poor memory” and described Biden as having “diminished faculties in advancing age.” Hur speculated that the president’s attorneys would potentially raise the issue of their client’s “limitations” if the case went to court.
It gets worse. The president, the report found, “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?’). He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.”
This should be alarming enough given the current state of domestic and international events. But based on Hur’s observations, it’s no longer impolite to ask whether Biden is capable of carrying out the duties of the Oval Office for the next nine months, let alone through 2028.
Democrats insist Biden is sharp and lucid. Yet it’s notable that he has held the fewest news conferences of any president in more than three decades. He maintains a limited campaign schedule. His handlers insist on tight control to ensure his accessibility is limited.
Biden lashed out in response to Hur’s findings, which only made matters worse. “I know what the hell I’m doing,” he said during a hastily arranged news conference that passed for damage control. He then referred to the president of Egypt as the leader of Mexico.
Biden may carry the day come November, but he also may be the only Democrat—perhaps along with Kamala Harris—whom baggage-laden Trump can beat. Do Democrats want to take that chance?
Hur’s bleak evaluation of the president’s acuity should be of great concern to American voters. Biden simply isn’t up to four more years. Conscientious Democrats must try to persuade Biden that it would be best for the nation if he were to drop out of the race and be content with a single term in the White House.