A report on President Biden’s handling of classified documents is adding fuel to a political attack that he is not mentally fit for office. Here are takeaways from the special counsel’s findings.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
President Biden got a legal win and a political setback this week. A Justice Department special counsel found that while Biden may have mishandled classified documents after he left the vice presidency, he should not be charged. The report also took aim at a core vulnerability for Biden – his age. There’s been a lot of fallout in the last day since the report came out, and NPR’s Domenico Montanaro is here to bring us up to speed. Hey there.
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Hey.
SHAPIRO: How bad is this for Biden?
MONTANARO: Well, I mean, it’s not good for him because it plays into a bigger existing narrative about his age and fitness for office. You know, polling shows age is a bigger issue for Biden than for former President Trump, even though they’re pretty close in age. An NBC poll out this week found that three-quarters of Americans have concerns about Biden’s age and ability to do the job, as opposed to just half who said the same about Trump despite, again, the fact that Trump also makes these kinds of missteps. And he’s also only four years younger. You know, he said that – he’s confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi. He mixed up President Obama with President Biden multiple times. He’s confused Sioux City, Iowa, for Sioux Falls, S.D.
But because Biden’s age is a bigger factor in people’s minds, it plays into this broader narrative about whether he’s up for the job. Fundamentally, though, I mean, I have to say I don’t think this really changes a whole lot about this election. I think the frame is still which weighs out here – concerns about Biden’s age or this very strong dislike for Trump, which is very real, that we’ve seen and helped Biden get elected in the first place.
SHAPIRO: Well, what’s the White…
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