A special counsel has ruled that President Biden will not be charged in a probe investigating his possession of classified documents from his time as vice president in the Obama administration. Special Counsel Robert Hur has characterized Biden as being a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”
Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Rick Newman takes a closer look at President Biden’s recent blunders and what impact concerns over his age, health, and competency could have on the US economy.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Editor’s note: This article was written by Eyek Ntekim
Video Transcript
[AUDIO LOGO]
– What should have been a win for President Biden turned into a bit of a mess yesterday, a special council report finding that Biden would not be charged, even though he willfully retained classified materials. But it’s the reason why that is sparking controversy, the report describing Biden as an “elderly man–” that’s a quote– “with a poor memory,” questioning his mental fitness and ability to recall key moments of his political career, Biden responding in a news conference last night.
JOE BIDEN: I’m well-meaning and I’m an elderly man. And I know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve been president. I put this country back on its feet.
– Mr. President, for months when you were asked about your age, you would respond with the words, “watch me.” many American people have been watching. And they have expressed concerns about your age.
JOE BIDEN: That is your judgment. That is your judgment.
– This is according to public polling. They expressed concern.
JOE BIDEN: That is not the judgment of the press.
– And then the president going on to make a blunder when talking about the conflict in the Middle East, mistaking the president of Egypt with Mexico.
JOE BIDEN: As you know, initially the president of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him open the gate.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
– So what to make of all of this? Rick Newman is with us with this week’s Bidenomics. And I think particularly as we try to tie it back to the markets and the economy, Rick, how should we be viewing these last 24 hours?
RICK NEWMAN: Right. I mean, you wouldn’t think Biden’s age is an economic issue. But I think it’s turning out to be one because it really is becoming one of the biggest issues in this whole campaign. So Biden was really not correct when he said that concerns about his age are just a matter for the press. The public is very concerned. Polls have been showing this consistently.
So this gets to the whole question of whether Biden’s age– he’s 81 and would be 82 when he takes office in a second term– if this will actually become something big enough that it could actually prevent him from getting reelected. And that does have direct implications for markets. It has implications for trade policy. I mean, remember, Donald Trump, assuming Donald Trump is the competitor, wants a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports. The last set of tariffs weren’t enough. He wants even more. He would cut taxes. Biden would raise taxes. And there are many other significant differences between these two candidates.
So I mean, I don’t normally cover the age of the president or geriatric issues for Yahoo Finance. But I mean, look, this is now right out in front of everybody. And I think if there’s any way to turn this into a positive for Biden, it’s that this prosecutor, by raising these issues– I mean, he made it painfully clear to Biden and his team, Biden needs to confront concerns about his age directly. He can no longer just say, “watch me,” and then shuffle off and assume that if he signs a piece of legislation or something, people are not going to worry about his age. They are worried about his age. And he needs to deal with it.
– What would that actually look like though, Rick? What does deal with it mean?
RICK NEWMAN: It’s a great question. I mean, does he join a Jack LaLanne program or something like that? I don’t know. I mean, the reporting out of the Biden campaign and from the White House is that the number one thing is just to try to prevent any kind of mistakes or slip-ups. For example, he supposedly he now wears dress sneakers instead of loafers, so that there’s less chance that he’s going to slip or stumble like that. I don’t know.
But Biden has to be out there in front of people. I mean, as an example, the White House decided not to do this interview with CBS before the Super Bowl. And I think you can speculate a couple of things at this point, number one, maybe they knew that this prosecutor’s report was coming out this week and that would probably dominate the conversation. But maybe they’re just afraid to put him in front of a national audience. And if they are– I mean, if Biden is becoming so frail that he really should not be speaking off the cuff in front of a national audience, maybe he’s just not the guy to be running for the Democrats. I mean–
– If I may, Rick, he didn’t come across as frail, necessarily. I mean– I don’t know. I don’t know how to characterize that.
RICK NEWMAN: So it’s a fair point. So at the end of that short press conference yesterday, he walked away and somebody asked him a question about what’s happening in the Middle East with Israel and with Hamas in Gaza. And he actually gave a coherent and thoughtful answer that to my ears indicated he knows exactly what’s going on in that situation. There are some things he said, I’m not going to get into. But he’s engaged. It’s pretty clear that he’s doing it. He’s doing the policy. He’s not just sleeping all day and letting his aides do it.
And then that’s when he messed up who’s the leader of Egypt. He mixed up Egypt and Mexico. So he got the leader’s name right, Sisi. It’s Egypt. But he just said it’s Mexico instead of Egypt. I really don’t know. This is a tough problem. And we really have not had to confront this in this manner in politics. I mean, Reagan was supposedly losing it a little bit at the end of his second term. But that was the end of his second term. He wasn’t running for re-election. So Biden has a new problem. And he’s got to solve it.
– Yeah, big story, new chapter, Rick. Thank you so much and have a great weekend.
RICK NEWMAN: Bye, guys, you too.
