White House memo balks at attacks on Biden’s memory, suggests that GOP are ‘afraid’ of him

A White House memo on Saturday sought to redirect the onslaught of criticism against President Biden’s purported memory woes by suggesting that the GOP was “afraid” of the president. 

The memo, released by White House spokesperson Andrew Bates, listed instances where Mr. Biden’s mental acuity was praised, including remarks from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who called the president “very professional, very smart, very tough.” 

Mr. Bates’ touted Mr. Biden’s lengthy career in Washington, policy victories under his presidency, like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and Democrats’ surprise performance during the 2022 midterm election cycle. 

“And this undeniable record speaks to why it’s no surprise that Republican officials’ continue their desperate – and inadvertently self-undermining – age attacks after many years of failure: they’re afraid of Joe Biden,” he said. 

The memo follows a scalding report from Special Counsel Robert Hur, who indicated that Mr. Biden would not be facing charges for his handling of classified documents. The report also noted that the president struggled with his memory, characterizing Mr. Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” 

Mr. Biden pushed back against the report but did little to help dispel his characterization as an old man with a failing memory after mistakenly referring to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as “the president of Mexico” in the same press conference where he balked at concerns with his recall. 

Republicans immediately went on the offensive following the searing report and blunder. House Republican leadership, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, penned a joint statement calling the findings of the report “disturbing.”

“A man too incapable of being held accountable for mishandling classified information is certainly unfit for the Oval Office,” the lawmakers wrote. 

Former President Donald Trump dog-piled onto Mr. Biden during a speech to National Rifle Association members in Pennsylvania on Friday, demanding if Mr. Biden was not getting charged, neither should he. 

He also questioned whether Mr. Biden was the one pulling the strings in his administration. 

“This is nothing more than the selected persecution of Biden’s political opponent, me,” Mr. Trump said. “And I don’t know that it’s Biden, because I don’t think he knows he’s alive.”