Biden unleashes foul-mouthed barb at reporters amid controversy over mental decline
Joe Biden snapped at reporters who asked him a question about his age, amid growing concerns about his mental decline.
At 82, Biden is the oldest living president after the death of Jimmy Carter last month.
His cognitive decline has been on display for all the world to see during his four years in the top job with a seemingly endless series of blunders and mishaps.
When the president was questioned on Sunday, he was filmed responding sharply to reporters.
“Being the oldest president, I know more world leaders than any of you have ever met in your entire life,” he said.
His comment immediately led to a wave of criticism.
Some conservatives were angry that the president was “taking the Lord’s name in vain like it was nothing,” while others said the removal was “shameful.”
Biden has been forced to play down rumors about his deteriorating health throughout his presidency, but especially over the past 18 months.
Joe Biden snapped at reporters who asked him a question about his age as he grew increasingly concerned about his mental decline
Veteran CBS News reporter Jan Crawford went so far as to describe Biden’s cognitive decline as the most underreported story of 2024.
She said: “Biden’s marked cognitive decline that became undeniable in the televised debate. Undisputed.’
Crawford blasted his advisers for insisting that Biden, 82, could “still run” for re-election despite their efforts to hide his apparent mental incompetence, and argued that if journalists had questioned his fitness “more vigorously” there may be ‘primarily the Democrats’.
Just hours prior to his bizarre comments to journalists, he botched a rendition of Happy Birthday after inviting a young man on stage to celebrate.
Biden was singing into a microphone as a crowd of people watched when he suddenly forgot the man’s name — and the lyrics — leading to an awkward gap in the song.
The man took the blunder well and laughed it off when Biden’s voice dropped at the part of the song he didn’t know, before picking up again for the end of the song.
“Happy birthday, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to…” he sang into the microphone.
Video of the gaffe has now gone viral, prompting critics to brand the president an “embarrassment” and start the countdown to Donald Trump’s inauguration.
His cognitive decline has been on display for all the world to see during his four years in the top job with a seemingly endless series of blunders and mishaps.
“Biden brought a man on stage to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him… Problem is he doesn’t know his name or has forgotten it… and instead mumbles nonsense,” one person wrote.
“Joe Biden has no idea who he is singing Happy Birthday to, this administration is a joke,” another added.
Since then, the president’s health has been in the news again The Wall Street Journal published a story on Dec. 19 about how aides dealt with a “diminished” president throughout his term.
The report found that aides had to repeat clear instructions to Biden — such as where to leave a podium, cancel meetings on his “bad days” and keep him distanced from his own Cabinet members.
Biden is said to have relied on a narrow circle of unelected advisers and officials placed in roles usually filled by the president.
The administration would also target those who dared to claim that Biden’s abilities had deteriorated since he was Barack Obama’s vice president, the report said.
At the same time, press workers charged with compiling news clips were instructed by senior staff to withhold any negative stories about the president.
His tenure was littered with embarrassing blunders and blunders, including introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as “President Putin” at the NATO summit in July, bumping into flagpoles and falling off bicycles.