Joe Biden ‘slurring words, muttering’ in newly-released interview audio
Donald Trump plans to release the shock recordings, amid revelations about the extent of Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline during his presidency.
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Joe Biden struggled to recall the date his son died or the year he left office as Vice President, among other details, new audio has revealed.
Audio of the then-President’s October 2023 interviews with special counsel Robert Hur – who was investigating his handling of classified documents – has been obtained by Axios ahead of the release of new book that lays bare the shocking extent of Mr Biden’s mental and physical decline during his administration.
In the recordings, Mr Biden also struggled to recall the year Donald Trump was elected or why he had the classified documents in question, “while occasionally slurring words and muttering”, Axios reported.
Though transcripts of the two, three-hour interviews was made available by the Justice Department last February, the Biden administration refused to release the audio, arguing that Republicans would “chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes”.
“The audio shows what the transcript lacks – the president’s dry-whisper voice and the long silences as he struggles to find the right words or dates,” the Axios report reads.
“Those often were supplied by his attorneys, who acted as caretakers of his memory … Throughout his testimony, Biden sounded more like a nostalgic, grandfatherly storyteller than a potential defendant who could be accused of hoarding secret papers.”
At one point during the interview, Mr Biden asked: “Am I making any sense to you?”.
The Trump administration now plans to release the audio recordings in full as early as next week, people familiar with the matter told The New York Times.
‘A child knows that’: Trump explodes
It comes after the President accused former FBI director James Comey on Friday of calling for his assassination in a coded post on social media, rejecting his explanation that he was not aware of any violent meaning.
The Secret Service is investigating Mr Comey after he was accused on Thursday of calling for violence against Mr Trump in a since-deleted Instagram post.
Mr Comey, who was fired by Mr Trump early in his first term, had posted an image of seashells arranged in the shape of the numerals “8647.”
The number “86” is commonly used as slang to mean getting rid of something or ejecting someone — especially in restaurant and bar settings when referring to menu items. Mr Trump is the 47th president of the US.
“Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” the FBI chief-turned-crime novelist captioned the post.
“He knew exactly what that meant,” Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox News before leaving Abu Dhabi after a four-day Middle East trip.
“A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant? That meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”
Trump administration officials and the President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., interpreted Comey’s post as a death threat against the commander in chief.
🚨 @POTUS on former FBI Director James Comey's "86 47" threat: "He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant ... That meant 'assassination.'" pic.twitter.com/LfOHKfSOFa
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 16, 2025
“While President Trump is currently on an international trip to the Middle East, the former FBI Director puts out what can clearly be interpreted as ‘a hit’ on the sitting President of the United States — a message etched in the sand,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote on X.
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously.”
“Just James Comey causally [sic] calling for my dad to be murdered,” Mr Trump Jr tweeted, sharing a screenshot of the former FBI director’s Instagram post.
“This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”
Texan Senator Ted Cruz echoed the sentiment saying, “Is there any other reasonable explanation for this post other than that … the former head of the FBI is publicly calling for the murder of the President of the United States?”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem indicated that the Secret Service is now involved in the matter.
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump,” Ms Noem wrote on X.
“DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately.”
Mr Comey, who launched the investigation into allegations of collusion between Russia and Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign — which rested on debunked intelligence from the infamous Steele dossier — claims he “didn’t realise” some would view the post as a call for violence.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Mr Comey said in a statement, posted on Instagram.
“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence.
“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Mr Trump was shot in the ear last July during a failed assassination attempt that left two others seriously injured and one person dead.
‘Freedom zone’: Trump’s Middle East plan
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has completed a tour of the Gulf nations, where he said that he would be “proud” to take control of Gaza and make it a “freedom zone” — as a fresh round of violence erupted in the Middle East overnight.
Israeli air strikes reportedly killed more than 120 people on Thursday as it issued an evacuation order for civilians in Gaza city.
Under a new cabinet-approved plan, Israel aims to reoccupy parts of the enclave.
“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good, make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,” the US leader said in Qatar. “I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.”
It’s not the first time Mr Trump has put forward his vision for the future of Gaza.
In February, he said he would like to see the US to take control of the Palestinian territory to allow for its reconstruction as a luxury leisure and business hub.
This was followed by a now-infamous AI-generated video he posted on social media showing ‘Trump Gaza’ — a luxurious fictional resort filled with casinos and fancy hotels.
Hamas does not seem interested in the plans. After Mr Trump’s latest comments in Qatar, it warned that Gaza was not “for sale”.
Hamas official Naim said “Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian land — it is not real estate for sale on the open market”.
Fresh violence erupts
Palestinian rescuers reported 120 people killed on Thursday in Israeli strikes on blockaded Gaza, where a US-backed organisation said it intends to begin distributing aid by the end of the month.
Aid to Gaza has been cut off since March 2, a tactic Israel has said is intended to force concessions from Hamas, but the group insisted on Thursday that the restoration of humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory was “the minimum requirement” for talks.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said the death toll from Israeli bombardment since dawn on Thursday had risen to 120.
Israel’s aid blockade preceded a resumption of military operations on March 18, ending a ceasefire that had largely halted hostilities since mid-January.
Originally published as Joe Biden ‘slurring words, muttering’ in newly-released interview audio
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