Biden’s press conference on the night of Thursday, February 8th, went less than well for him. Not only did he suddenly snap and start berating a female journalist who asked about his age and mental state, a bad enough moment on its own, but he also mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt and forgot where his son Beau got him his rosary.

As background, Biden’s appearance was sparked by a report from the special counsel investigating Biden’s handling of classified documents. The special counsel decided not to recommend charges, justifying that decision in part by pointing to Biden’s lapses of memory and inability to remember even basic details, claiming that Biden’s failings of memory would make it difficult to prove he had the requisite mental state for certain crimes.

For example, one part of the special counsel’s report provided, “In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden’s memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview
when his term ended (“if it was 2013 – when did I stop being Vice President?”), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (“in 2009, am I still Vice President?”), He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died. And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he “had a real difference” of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Biden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama. In a case where the government must prove that Mr. Biden knew he had possession of the classified Afghanistan documents after the vice presidency and chose to keep those documents, knowing he was violating the law, we expect that at trial, his attorneys would emphasize these limitations in his recall.”

Then, appearing for the press conference, Biden showed similar lapses of memory. In one part of the speech, for instance, Biden attempted to describe the rosary that his son Beau Biden gave him before Beau’s tragic death. However, that moment went less than well as, while commenting on the rosary, Biden seemed to forget from where the rosary came.

He said, “Let me tell you something. Some of you have commented I wear, since the day he died every single day, the rosary he got from Our Lady of . . .” Biden couldn’t remember from where it came. After an extremely awkward pause, during which de didn’t remember the origin of the rosary, he continued, saying, “Every Memorial Day we hold a service remembering him attended by friends and family and the people will love them.”

For reference, he was probably trying to say, “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” Describing the rosary in 2021, Biden said, “During my visits, I got to know Mexico a little bit and its people, and paid my respects to the Virgin of Guadalupe. As a matter of fact, I still have my rosary beads that my son was wearing when he passed.”

Watch the awkward rosary incident here:

During the speech, Biden also addressed the situation in the Middle East and, embarrassingly, given the rumors about his mental health, mixed up President Al-Sissi of Egypt and the president of Mexico. Watch that awkward gaffe here:

Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video