US President Joe Biden gestures as he delivers a speech at the White House in Washington, the United States, on February 8, 2024.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Joe Biden's national campaign co-chairman Mitch Landrieu on Sunday responded to concerns raised by special counsel Robert Hur about Biden's alleged mental deterioration.
“They're not even close to being the same cases,” Landrieu said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press,” responding to comparisons between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Biden's respective investigations into his mishandling of classified documents.
“But that's not the most egregious thing about this report,” Landrieu continued. “It is this ad hominem attack that called into question the president's capacity… I have known [Biden] for 30 years. I met him personally, I met him with two people, five people, 10 people. I've traveled with him across the country, rebuilding America on the back of this incredible infrastructure bill that passed. And I'm telling you, this guy is tough. He's smart.”
The comments follow special counsel Robert Hur's investigation into possible mishandling of classified U.S. documents that could have endangered national security. Biden kept classified documents in the garage of her Delaware residence after the conclusion of his second term as vice president in 2017, the report states. Ultimately, while the report upheld the risks posed by the storage of national documents at Biden's residence, the president did not commit any criminal offenses, the report concluded.
The report went a step further by citing the president's supposedly “poor memory,” something Biden denied in a national address last week.
“My memory has not gotten worse,” Biden said in the televised speech, just hours after Hur's report was released. “…I'm an old man and I know what the hell I'm doing.”
The national address reignited efforts in Washington to possibly flip the top of the Democratic ticket as voters grow increasingly concerned about Biden's age, recent polls indicated.
Landrieu also responded to efforts to change the Democratic ticket, citing Biden's resistance throughout his career.
“Biden's achievements have been second to none,” Landrieu said. “The one thing Biden will never do (count on this) is that he will never give up.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made similar comments on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, citing his personal experiences working with Biden.
“I have met with the president many times over the last three years,” Mayorkas said. “I prepare intensely for those meetings…He is inquisitive, detailed and focused on the mission.”
