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Joe Biden was considered too old and forgetful to be prosecuted by the special prosecutor.
Panic is now spreading within the Democrats after the report that hit like a bomb.
– It’s a nightmare, says a congressman to NBC News.
Urgent measures are now being discussed in the White House to “rejuvenate” the president.
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“The worst day of Joe Biden’s entire presidency”.
That’s how one of his close allies describes the Thursday when special investigator Robert Hur’s report was made public.
Prosecutor Hur chose not to indict Biden for mishandling sensitive documents – despite documents being found in the president’s garage and in a drawer under the television.
Emergency measures backfired
He justifies this in part by saying that the president comes across as “a well-intentioned, elderly man with a bad memory” and that a jury would surely see him the same way.
Joe Biden’s age and repeated blunders — in which he confused world-famous politicians, asked from the stage if a dead person was there, tripped, fell and stabbed himself — have already led a majority of Americans in opinion polls to state that he is too old for another four year.
The words of Robert Hur caused the burning question to completely explode on news broadcasts, on websites and in social media.
Everywhere, Biden’s cognitive abilities were discussed.
As an emergency measure to stop the bleeding, Biden’s staff chose to call a press conference in the White House late Thursday evening Swedish time.
According to many, the president made matters worse.
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Joe Biden’s re-election campaign is in crisis.
1 / 2Photo: Evan Vucci / AP
“It’s a nightmare”
He started arguing with reporters, was visibly irritated, and once again managed to lose his way when he confused Egypt with Mexico in an exposition about the war in Gaza.
According to sources to The New York Times, the press conference had Democratic officials “sending panicked messages among themselves.”
Outwardly, senior representatives within the party have unanimously supported Biden and accuse Robert Hur of having written a “politically motivated” report and distorting the truth.
But internally, the fear of what the report might mean for the election in November is spreading.
– It is a nightmare. It weakens Joe Biden in the election and Donald Trump would be an authoritarian disaster, says a congressman for Democrats to NBC News.
Possible death blow
– It looks bleak for the Democrats.
Another representative of the party fears that it could be the death blow for Biden’s chances of winning re-election – if one does not manage to change the image of the 81-year-old during the election campaign.
– It is more than devastating. It confirms all the concerns and doubts that voters have. If the only reason they have for not impeaching him is that he is too old, how can he be president? says this one to NBC News.
The representative is asked if the bombshell report changes the party’s calculations to win with Biden.
– How the hell can it not? will be the answer.
A caricature
Some believe that Biden’s staff worsens the situation and makes the president appear stiff and like a “caricature”.
“Some of the people around him are creating this weird bubble because they’re trying to protect him, but they’re making him so anxious that he’s making mistakes,” said a former White House staffer. to CNN.
Many within the party now believe that the president’s only chance is to show every day before the election that the picture painted around his alleged frailty and cognitive decline is not true.
– He has to show us that this is a false image and that he has what it takes to win and govern, says one of Biden’s allies to NBC News.
Even the Democrats’ financiers are beginning to turn a blind eye
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full screen At one point, Biden fell off his bike in front of the reporters’ cameras. He has repeatedly tripped and fallen. Photo: AP
Stop cycling and sunbathing
– As soon as you turn on Fox News, they talk about a confused, fumbling Joe Biden. If you check Tiktok and Instagram, there are tons of videos mocking him for his age, says an adviser to Democratic fundraisers to Politico.
– It is constantly out there. So the more this happens, the more you feed it.
Within the staff and among political advisers working with Biden’s re-election campaign, a number of measures are now being discussed to reduce the view of him as too old, writes CNN.
Some want him to sit more often in public contexts instead of being filmed as he hustles his way to the podium. Others want him rejuvenated by spending more time on make-up and lighting.
Must prove himself
Some have raged against the fact that the closest employees let him continue to ride his bike or walk around in just his swimming shorts on the beach.
Many are fighting for him to have more informal meetings with ordinary people in front of the cameras, where he comes into his own more than in the pulpit.
Political strategist Steve Schmidt has worked for Republican stalwarts such as former President George W. Bush and John McCain.
In recent years, he has broken with the party and co-founded the group The Lincoln Project, which fights against Donald Trump.
He believes the information in the report – and Biden’s subsequent press conference – could help his nemesis Donald Trump to the White House.
“The allegations, even if they are not true, have the potential to prove fatal,” writes Schmidt in his newsletter states Newsweek.
“Don’t see him as a victim”
“They are unfair, but strong. Whining, complaining, crying, shouting and condemning them will not change this fact”.
Schmidt believes that Biden has a tough job ahead of him until November.
“The basement campaign during the 2020 covid election will not work. The president is in the difficult and unfair position of having to prove that the accusations are false. And he must do that. Every day,” writes the strategist.
He also has a piece of advice for Biden’s staff:
“Don’t paint him as a victim”.