Joe Biden’s memory is a major issue

As the unholy alliance between Iran, Russia and China puts the world on a perilous road towards potential war, the US presidential election in less than nine months is shaping as a serious turning point. Friday’s White House press conference, at which a defiant Joe Biden, 81, tried to defend his mental ability and record, underlined the problem. It followed the release of a damning report by Justice Department special counsel Robert Hur that found the President had “wilfully” retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice-presidency.

He allegedly broke the same laws that Donald Trump, 77, broke, allegedly, in keeping classified documents at his Mar-A-Lago home, for which he faces trial and possible jail time. Mr Trump’s alleged crimes in relation to his documents stash were more egregious: he had many more, and he refused numerous times to return them to the National Archives. But the 338-page report found Mr Biden was sloppy in holding on to classified material related to some of his most consequential policy debates as vice-president, eager to show that history would prove him right.

Mr Hur decided not to prosecute Mr Biden for an alarming reason – because the President’s mental faculties had declined so much he would elicit sympathy from jurors “as a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory’’. After interviewing Mr Biden for five hours over two days, Mr Hur found he could not remember the dates of his vice-presidency under Barack Obama or the date of the death of his son, Beau, to cancer in 2015. The harsh but reasonable conclusion from the report, Adam Creighton reported from Washington, is that “the President of the United States is too senile to prosecute’’.

At his press conference, Mr Biden was angry that his memory had been called into question by Mr Hur. “How in the hell dare he raise that?” the President said, referring to the report’s mention of his son’s death. Yet he did not help himself by mixing up “the President of Mexico” with “the President of Egypt’’ in responding to a reporter’s question about the passage of humanitarian aid for Gazans during the Israel-Hamas war.

The report’s conclusions are more damning for Mr Biden than any attack by Mr Trump or Republican opponents. Mr Hur, the special counsel appointed to investigate the Biden documents, is an independent legal professional, appointed by Attorney-General Merrick Garland.

The situation, and Mr Biden’s response to the report, raise two critical questions for the US, its allies – including Australia – and the world. First, who is making the big decisions in the Biden administration at present? And second, after landslide wins in the South Carolina and Nevada primaries, can the Democrats persist with Mr Biden’s quest to secure the nomination to be the party’s candidate in the election on November 5?

At the midpoint of a second term, Mr Biden, who turns 82 just after this year’s election, would be 84. Voters are entitled to wonder what his mental capabilities will be like by then to carry out the most important job in the world. Somebody in the party, and/or his wife, to whom he reportedly listens, should step in as soon as possible to persuade him to stand aside, in his own best interests and that of his country. One way or another the special counsel’s report could be a turning point. It could prompt a change of thinking among Democrats as regards Mr Biden’s restanding or, conversely, it could sway uncommitted voters and even some Democrats to lean towards Mr Trump.

That danger is compounded by the mountain of legal problems, and potential jail terms, facing Mr Trump. The former president’s disregard of the democratic process on January 6, 2021, when a mob of his fanatical supporters attacked the Capitol, also makes him an unpalatable choice for many, including Republicans. He is a deeply divisive figure. That said, if the choice on November 5 is between Mr Biden and Mr Trump, in the wake of the report of the Justice Department’s special counsel uncommitted voters and even concerned Democrats might be swayed towards Mr Trump.

Opinion polls show more than 77 per cent of Americans and 69 per cent of Democrats believe that Mr Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is too old to run again.

It will not help him that his Vice-President and running mate, Kamala Harris, lacks the gravitas for the role. Rectifying the dearth of younger talent is the most significant challenge for both major parties.