Biden\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
As background, Biden\u2019s appearance was sparked by a report from the special counsel investigating Biden\u2019s handling of classified documents. The special counsel decided not to recommend charges, justifying that decision in part by pointing to Biden\u2019s lapses of memory and inability to remember even basic details, claiming that Biden\u2019s failings of memory would make it difficult to prove he had the requisite mental state for certain crimes.<\/p>\n
For example, one part of the special counsel\u2019s report provided, \u201cIn his interview with our office, Mr. Biden\u2019s memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview
\nwhen his term ended (\u201cif it was 2013 \u2013 when did I stop being Vice President?\u201d), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (\u201cin 2009, am I still Vice President?\u201d), 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 \u201chad a real difference\u201d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s tragic death. However, that moment went less than well as, while commenting on the rosary, Biden seemed to forget from where the rosary came.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cLet 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 . . .\u201d Biden couldn\u2019t remember from where it came. After an extremely awkward pause, during which de didn\u2019t remember the origin of the rosary, he continued, saying, \u201cEvery Memorial Day we hold a service remembering him attended by friends and family and the people will love them.\u201d<\/p>\n
For reference, he was probably trying to say, \u201cOur Lady of Guadalupe.\u201d Describing the rosary in 2021, Biden said, \u201cDuring 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watch the awkward rosary incident here:<\/p>\n