Political strategist David Axelrod suggested that President Joe Biden’s “angry” press conference could have serious consequences for his reelection bid.
If Biden goes on to lose in November, many may point to the unfortunate decision to respond to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report depicting him as too senile to merit being charged as the pivotal moment when he confirmed voters’ opinions that he’s too old for the job.
Biden’s presser was nothing short of disastrous when, instead of presenting a convincing picture of his mental competence, he confused the presidents of Mexico and Egypt in what could be the killer gaffe that his handlers have been dreading.
Barack Obama’s former top adviser appeared on CNN after the debacle where he told anchor Anderson Cooper that Biden’s blunder “reinforces the meme” that he is ill-equipped for the rigors of another four years in the White House.
(Video: CNN)
“I understand the concept of why he had the press conference,” Axelrod said. “Because this thing was red hot and it was out there and he felt he needed to, and his people felt he needed to respond to it. Whether the response was adequate, or whether it creates more problems I think is another question.”
He added that he thought Biden did “contradict” some of Hur’s conclusions that he came across as being cranky during the hastily-called presser.
“He was quite angry, not just at the release, or the characterizations of the special counsel, but of what some of the reporters were asking him. It is a fact that this is a problem for the president,” he said. “The most damaging things that can happen in politics are things that reinforce a meme that’s out there that is hurting you, and the central meme that is hurting the president is this issue of age.”
“It’s a big barrier. People don’t give him credit for what he’s done. They blame him for everything that happens and a lot of it has to do with their… feelings about his age. So it’s not wise to say to a reporter, that’s your interpretation. It’s not, there’s reams of polling material about this. So I’m not sure, he was feisty and energetic. I’ll say that. I’m not sure that he solved his problem tonight,” Axelrod concluded.
Judging by the frenzied reaction among his supporters, Biden’s press conference would seem to qualify as a raging dumpster fire with the highlight being when after insisting that his memory was fine, he mixed up the two countries.
A lost Joe Biden refers to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the “president of Mexico” pic.twitter.com/aeedhOK0JF
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 9, 2024
Axelrod has previously remarked about Biden’s vulnerability due to age, an observation that reportedly drew a typically vulgar response from the geriatric leader who dismissed him as a “pr*ck” for pointing out the obvious.
“Only @JoeBiden can make this decision,” Axelrod wrote on X in November. “If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?”
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