Quotes
Remember, in this time frame, my son is… uh… would’ve been deployed or is dying and so… it was… and by the way there were still a lot of people at the time, when I got out of the Senate, that were encouraging me to run in this period - except the president."
Biden is heard saying
My memory is fine."
The ex-president defended himself at the time, insistingFor that reason, I had to consider the President's memory and overall mental state, and how a jury likely would perceive his memory and mental state in a criminal trial."
Hur added
I'm well-meaning and I'm an elderly man and I know what the hell I'm doing. I've been president, and I put this country back on its feet. I don't need his recommendation,
Biden said when questioned by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy days after Hur released his report
I'm a young man, so it's not a problem,
Biden, now 82, jokingly respondedMy memory is so bad I let you speak,
Biden told him
It's OK for us to come to grips with our failures so that we can make the changes necessary to win." ... And while I am very much focused on the future, I'm concerned that there's still a lot of denial in our party about how badly we've lost."
Speaking to Politico, Democratic Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts was asked about Tapper and Thompson's book, saying ... He then expressed his worry
Her criticism of Hur's report, particularly the characterization of President Biden as an 'elderly man with a poor memory,' was a strategic move to defend her administration at the time."
Political analyst Craig Agranoff, to Newsweek via text message Friday nightSome of the same people who just want to move on are the same people who are basically in denial that we lost,
Moulton saidHarris's response was understandable in context, but it may have contributed to perceptions that the party was out of touch with voters' concerns about Biden's fitness, which ultimately hurt their case in 2024. That said, it's too simplistic to pin the party's struggles solely on her; Democrats faced a complex electoral landscape, and this was just one piece of a larger puzzle."
Concluding, the political analyst saidHowever, in hindsight, it risks casting a shadow over her credibility, as public concerns about Biden's age and mental acuity became more pronounced during the 2024 campaign. This moment reflects a broader challenge for Democrats: balancing loyalty to their leadership with the need for transparency about electability."
Agranoff continued
🚨Joe Biden's former White House aides can't hide behind the walls of the Oval Office anymore. They orchestrated a deliberate effort with the liberal media to conceal the truth about Joe's mental decline. Joining @FoxNews HANNITY tonight at 9pmET. Tune in!"
GOP Congressman James Comer of Kentucky posted to X on FridayYou're left to wonder, why this report spends time making gratuitous and inappropriate criticisms of the president."
Former White House spokesperson Ian Sams also raced to Biden's defense in the aftermath of the report, saying to the media in part
We should expect that there would be a higher level of integrity than what we saw,
Harris saidThe way that the president's demeanor in that report was characterized, could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly politically motivated."
Harris continuedWhat I saw [in] that report last night, I believe is, as a former prosecutor ... the comments that were made by that prosecutor--gratuitous, inaccurate, and inappropriate."
Immediately following the release of Hur's February 2024 report, Biden's second in command defended her boss, saying in partAnd so I didn't mean anything by it, I turned to the prime minister and handed it to him and the poor son-of-a-bitch couldn't pull it back,
Biden saidAnd you know, there are sumo wrestlers doin' everything they do,
Biden said lightheartedlyNo, I really did."
The people in the interview room burst into laughter, to which Biden assured themHow 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 in a news conference hours after the report was made public, adding