"Biden, who snapped 'No memory problems,' slips up again... 'No need to see more'"

Confusion Between Egypt and Mexico Presidents at Press Conference
Biden: "The Most Qualified Person to Serve as President"

U.S. President Joe Biden held a press conference to refute criticisms from a special prosecutor investigating allegations that he unlawfully leaked classified national security documents when he left the vice presidency. However, shortly after, he sparked controversy again by mistakenly confusing the name of the Egyptian president with that of the Mexican president during his remarks.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to local media on the 8th (local time), President Biden held an unscheduled emergency press conference and stated regarding the special prosecutor's investigation results, "I have never broken the law." The special prosecutor's report included a statement that if Biden were indicted, he might be portrayed as a pitiful and well-meaning but forgetful old man to gain sympathy votes.

In response, Biden said, "My memory is fine," and strongly asserted, "Look at what I have done since becoming president. No one thought it would be possible among the things passed so far. I am the most qualified person to serve as president."

President Biden of the United States
Photo by AP/ Yonhap News

Regarding the special prosecutor's claim that "Biden has memory problems, such as not recalling when his eldest son Beau Biden passed away," he reacted strongly, saying, "I do not need anyone to remind me when he passed away. How dare they make such a claim?"

However, during his remarks, he appeared to confuse the presidents of Mexico and Egypt. President Biden said, "As you know, Mexico's President El-Sisi did not open the door for humanitarian supplies," and "I spoke to him. I persuaded him to open the door." He mistakenly referred to Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Egyptian president, as the president of Mexico.

The video of this response quickly spread on social media (SNS), and the Republican Party used it as a point of attack. Chris LaCivita, a former advisor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Unconvincing and sad," while Jason Miller, senior advisor to the Trump campaign, also criticized, saying, "Nothing more to see. Absolutely nothing."

In this regard, foreign media pointed out that voices questioning President Biden's ability to perform his duties due to his advanced age are likely to grow louder among voters.

On the 9th, as airstrikes on residential areas in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Israel continued, a Palestinian woman was seen shedding tears at the airstrike site.
[Photo by Reuters]

At the press conference that day, Biden warned Israel, saying it had "crossed the line" in Gaza, adding, "Many innocent people are in trouble and dying. It must stop now." This was seen as unusual, given that President Biden has consistently sided with Israel.

Meanwhile, Special Prosecutor Robert Hur stated in a report released the previous day, "Investigations revealed that after stepping down as vice president and before becoming president, Biden deliberately stored and disclosed classified information during his civilian years," adding, "Considering the highly sensitive nature of the information, it could pose a serious threat to national security."

Earlier, the 81-year-old President Biden faced difficulties due to a series of verbal slips. On the 5th, during a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada, he mistakenly referred to French President Emmanuel Macron as the late former President Fran?ois Mitterrand while mentioning the Group of Seven (G7) summit. Two days later, on the 7th, at a fundraising event in New York, he confused the German chancellor while referring to the same summit. On the 6th, during a speech at the White House, he hesitated as he could not recall the name of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.