Moments after fiercely defending his memory “as fine’, US President Joe Biden mixed up the names of the leaders of Mexico and Egypt.
Speaking on the Gaza war, he referred to Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the “president of Mexico.”
“I think as you know initially, the president of Mexico, El-Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate,” Biden said.
Earlier, Biden reacted strongly after a Special Counsel report on his handling of classified documents allegedly raised questions on his memory and pointed out that he struggled to recall when his son died.
While confronting these claims that emerged out of the much-anticipated report, Biden expressed outrage at such suggestions.
“There’s even a reference that I don’t remember when my son died. How in the hell dare he raise that?”
“My memory is fine…Take a look at what I’ve done since I became president,” he added.
These comments came during a surprise news briefing on Thursday (Feb 8), where he also criticised Israel over the Gaza war.
After Special Counsel Robert Hur decided to not impose charges on Biden about the classified documents case, the US president expressed satisfaction.
“I knew they would be reached all along.”
He also recollected his full cooperation with the investigation as he recounted sitting for extensive interviews.
In the report, Hur had said, “Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified information after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”
“We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,” said the report, adding that the “evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” he added.
Hur, the US Justice Department’s special counsel probing Biden’s handling of these documents, released the report on Thursday (Feb 8).
The report criticised Biden’s conduct, highlighting “serious risks” to national security but stated that pursuing criminal charges was not the proper remedy.
(With inputs from agencies)v
