Latest news with #BidenInterview
Telegraph
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Listen: Biden struggles to remember date of son's death
Joe Biden's memory lapses have been caught on tape in a leaked recording. Audio of the former president's interview with a prosecutor over his handling of classified documents has been released, fuelling questions about his mental decline in his final years in the White House. In the recording, Mr Biden pauses for extended periods, meanders in his responses and struggles to recall key dates, including the year his son Beau died, and the year Donald Trump was elected president. The audio from 2023 will add to speculation that those around the former president sought to cover up his cognitive decline while he was in office. The interview, transcripts of which were released last year, became one of the most controversial parts of the investigation by Robert Hur, the special counsel. Mr Hur concluded there was not enough evidence to charge Mr Biden with mishandling state secrets after classified documents were found in his garage. Others prompted president with answers In one clip obtained by Axios, Mr Biden, 82, was asked where he kept papers on matters he was 'actively working' on after leaving office as vice president in 2017. Mr Biden took a long pause before haltingly responding: 'I don't know, this is what, 2017, '18, that area?' He added: 'Remember, in this time frame, my son was either deployed or is dying,' referring to his eldest son Beau, who died from cancer in 2015. Mr Biden then went on to have further trouble remembering when his son died and needed confirmation from others in the room. 'What month did Beau die?' Mr Biden asked before pausing, then saying: 'Oh, God, May 30.' Two people finished his sentence by providing the year: '2015.' 'Was it 2015 he had died?' Mr Biden then asked. Discussing Mr Trump, Mr Biden asked: 'And Trump gets elected in 2017?' to which someone in the room reminded him that his predecessor won election in 2016. In a second clip, asked whether he knew he had kept hold of a memo related to Afghanistan, Mr Biden said: 'I guess I wanted to hang on to it just for posterity's sake.' An aide then interjected to rephrase his answer, saying: 'He does not recall specifically intending to keep this memo after he left the vice- presidency.' 'Elderly man with a poor memory' Following two days of interviews, Mr Hur released a report in February last year in which he called Mr Biden 'a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory', sparking outrage among Democrats. Mr Biden and his allies fiercely disputed the prosecutor's characterisation as inaccurate and unfair, and pushed back on the suggestion the president didn't remember when his eldest son died. 'There's even a reference that I don't remember when my son died. How in the hell dare he raise that? Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself it wasn't any of their damn business,' Mr Biden said last year. 'I don't need anyone to tell me when he passed away.' The report was released amid widespread concerns about Mr Biden's mental fitness and his ability to run for re-election. Months later, the president dropped out of the race after a disastrous presidential debate performance, leaving Kamala Harris just four months to mount her ultimately unsuccessful campaign. Reports emerged in recent days that the Trump administration intended to release audio of the interview, with the president saying it was up to his attorney general to decide. A Biden representative downplayed the significance of the recording's release on Saturday. 'The transcripts were released by the Biden administration more than a year ago,' Kelly Scully told Politico. 'The audio does nothing but confirm what is already public.' An upcoming book has claimed that aides to Mr Biden had discussed the prospect of him needing a wheelchair if he were re-elected. The book, Original Sin, is said to lift the lid on efforts to conceal his mental and physical decline by those around him in the run-up to the election. According to the authors, the president at one stage forgot the name of actor George Clooney and was closely managed by his wife, Jill Biden, who allegedly shielded the president from criticism and finished his thoughts for him.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Audio of Biden's Special Counsel Interview Reveals Jarring Memory Lapses
The long-sought-after audio of Joe Biden's 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur has finally arrived. In the six-hour recording, extracts of which have been published by Axios, Biden repeatedly struggles to recall key dates, slurs his speech, and fumbles through long, uncomfortable silences. At one point, he fails to remember when his son Beau died. In another, he needs help identifying the year Trump was elected. The ticking of a grandfather clock in the White House's Map Room provides an eerie metronome to Biden's stumbles. 'I don't recall,' Biden says when questioned why he kept documents after his term as vice president. 'Did I have this? Was this in my possession, this memo?' The interview, part of Hur's investigation into Biden's improper retention of classified documents, had already provoked alarm for Hur's claim that a jury would likely view the then-president as 'a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' While the transcript of the interview has been out for more than a year, now the public can judge that for themselves. Despite Biden's defenders insisting he was sharp and engaged, the audio released on Friday night paints a confronting picture. While Biden occasionally cracked jokes and rambled comically about Jay Leno and the Gutenberg printing press, he often veered off-topic and couldn't clearly explain how classified files ended up in his home. 'Am I making any sense to you?' Biden asked at one point during the discussion. Democrats, including then-Vice President Kamala Harris, had previously attacked Hur's characterization of Biden's age and mental state as 'gratuitous' and politically motivated. However, the tape's awkward pauses and meandering answers are already stirring anxiety in the party, especially with the upcoming release of Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, a new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson. 'I'm a young man, so it's not a problem,' Biden joked during the interview. The White House had fought the release of the audio, citing concerns over precedent and partisan misuse. But Republicans and conservative groups like Judicial Watch have argued that the public deserves to hear it. Now they can.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Leaked audio reveals extent of Biden's struggle to remember key details in 2023 interview, including when son died
Audio of President Joe Biden's 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur concerning the improper possession of classified documents has been released more than a year after his administration released transcripts. The recordings, published by Axios, reveal the extent to which the 46th president, then 80, struggled to remember key details and dates, was prompted by his lawyers, and spoke in a halting, whispering voice, punctuated by long silences. It sheds light on why the White House refused to release the recordings while he was still in office amid questions regarding his mental acuity, and also perhaps why Hur's conclusion was that jurors in any trial that might arise over his possession of the documents in question would have viewed him as a 'sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' At the time, the White House hit back at Hur's assessment of the president, insisting he was 'sharp' and that any attacks on Biden were politically motivated — yet the special counsel comes across as respectful, and the tone of the interview is friendly and mostly appears relaxed. The release of the audio comes ahead of the publication of a new book about a White House and presidential campaign hiding the decline of the president as he ran for another term in office. Original Sin by Axios' Alex Thompson and CNN's Jake Tapper will be released on Tuesday.
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Trump administration to release audio of Biden's special counsel interview, New York Times reports
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to release audio of former U.S. President Joe Biden's 2023 interview with the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar. The newspaper said the audio recording could be released as early as next week.
Fox News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'IT'S PRETTY TERRIFYING': Lisa Boothe Weighs in on Biden's 'Diminished' BBC Interview
Lisa Boothe, Fox News Contributor, joined The Guy Benson Show today to react to President Biden's baffling BBC interview and his claim that he could have won if he hadn't dropped out of the race. Boothe argued that the Democratic Party is in total disarray and used the moment to urge Republicans to get their act together while the opposition is faltering. She also shared a disturbing personal story about an Uber driver who openly wished the assassination attempt on Trump had succeeded, which is an anecdote that reflects a troubling pattern of tolerance for political violence on the left. Listen to the full interview below! Listen to the full interview below: Listen to the full podcast below:
