Biden’s age, mental acuity impacting election chances becomes media focus after tough special counsel report

Much of the mainstream media, along with many allies in the Democratic Party, had a come-to-Jesus moment last week, realizing President Biden’s memory is a significant problem for the 81-year-old as he seeks re-election. 

On Thursday, the release of Robert Hur's report on Biden's handling of classified material fueled questions about Biden’s mental acuity when it described the president as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" who could not remember significant life events. Biden then held a last-minute White House press conference to dispute the notion, but the event was slammed as a "political disaster" even by The New York Times. 

Shortly after insisting that his memory was "fine," Biden proceeded to refer to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the "president of Mexico." Biden then went off script and took questions from reporters at random, prompting a combative exchange with CNN correspondent MJ Lee, who asked about Americans who are concerned about his age. 

"They've expressed concerns about your mental acuity," Lee told Biden directly. "They say that you're too old. Mr. President, you told me in December that you believe there are many Democrats who could defeat Donald Trump. So why does it have to be you now?"

BIDEN LASHES OUT AT REPORTERS ASKING ABOUT AGE CONCERNS AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT: 'THAT IS YOUR JUDGMENT!'

Much of the mainstream media, along with many allies in the Democratic Party, had a come-to-Jesus moment last week, realizing President Biden’s memory is a significant problem for the 81-year-old as he seeks re-election.  (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Biden clashed with other reporters as well and struck a defiant tone, declaring he was the most qualified person for the presidency.

Former Obama advisor and CNN senior political analyst David Axelrod said the press conference "reinforces the meme" that Biden is too old. Axelrod said that Biden’s response simply did not solve the "problem" of the majority of voters thinking he’s too old and too incompetent for the job.

Axelrod has been critical of Biden’s age and fitness for office for months now, but the ordeal forced many of his media colleagues to have sudden about-faces on the issue. 

"I slept like a baby last night. I woke up every two hours crying and wet the bed. This is terrible for Democrats," former Clinton advisor Paul Begala said on CNN. "Anybody with a functioning brain knows that."

Jeffrey Toobin said on CNN that the Mexico gaffe will be "the only thing" people will remember. CNN’s Elie Honig said it "blew my mind" that Biden contradicted Hur’s report during the press conference and CNN’s Jake Tapper reminded viewers that Biden keeps suggesting he had recent conversations with people who died years ago. On ABC News’ "The View," it was suggested that California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Vice President Kamala Harris could even replace Biden as the Democratic nominee.

FLASHBACK: DEMS RAN DEFENSE ON BIDEN'S AGE BEFORE SPECIAL COUNSEL PUT DAMNING SPOTLIGHT ON HIS ‘POOR MEMORY’

As many high-profile liberals fumed at Hur, others expressed concern about the report putting a spotlight on Biden’s reported memory issues. A variety of liberal news outlets published headlines expressing the fear. 

The New York Times published a story headlined, "Eight words and a verbal slip put Biden’s age back at the center of 2024," while NBC News went with "’A Nightmare’: Special counsel’s assessment of Biden’s mental fitness triggers Democratic panic."

Politico published a headline, "Age isn’t just a number. It’s a profound and growing problem for Biden," and the Washington Post wrote that the report "paints a scathing picture of Biden’s memory." 

Axios said Biden's performance Thursday night was a nightmare for his staff. 

"For years now, President Biden's advisers have carefully choreographed his every move to avoid what exploded into view over six hours Thursday: a vivid display of an elderly, irritable man struggling on a public stage," Axios reported. "One House Democrat called Biden's verbal slip-ups ‘awful,’ and wondered why the president's staff allowed him to hold a press conference — then field reporters' shouted questions — 'that late at night after a full day,' instead of Friday morning, when he'd be 'fresh.'" 

BIDEN BLISTERED BY MAINSTREAM MEDIA AFTER 'DISASTER' PRESS CONFERENCE: 'ELDERLY, IRRITABLE MAN'

President Joe Biden held a press conference in response to Special Counsel Robert Hurs' description of his age and memory. (Reuters)

"The Five" co-host Harold Ford, Jr. believes the combative press conference was just the start of questions about Biden’s abilities. 

"I think these questions now are going to come more to the fore," he told Brian Kilmeade on Friday. "This was a tough night for the president, and I think many in the Democratic Party, which is my party, are going to have serious questions going forward about what this means."

Not everyone on the left believes Special Counsel Hur’s report is a death knell for Biden’s re-election hopes. 

Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall, a Fox News contributor, objected to Hur taking a "parting shot" at Biden by focusing on his age and memory. She also feels there is hypocrisy from Republicans who overlook the advanced age of former President Trump when criticizing Biden. 

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Marshall suggested the press will probably move on from nitpicking Biden’s age during the next news cycle and said that polling indicating that Americans are concerned with his memory issues should also reveal where that issue falls among other priorities such as immigration and the economy. 

"I guess it's sexy to pick on old people, but, you know, karma's really out there, so I'd be careful. You know, we're all going to get old," Marshall told Fox News Digital. 

"If you didn't vote for Trump in the first election or the second, you're not going to vote for him in the third, no matter how old Joe Biden is," she continued. 

"So, the overwhelming majority of Democrats are going to vote for Biden. The overwhelming majority of Republicans are going to vote for Trump. It comes down to those independents, and I just don't think that… those independent voters, are going to look at age, they're going to look at the candidate that aligns with their ideology."

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Fox News Digital’s Bailee Hill, Gabriel Hays, Jeffrey Clark and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report. 

Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @briansflood.