US President Joe Biden on Friday (Mar 15) was again captured with his ‘cheat codes’ in the Oval Office, outlining information about the visiting Irish officials with prompts regarding the pronunciation of their names. The 81-year-old leader accidentally exposed the cards to the media as he greeted Leo Varadkar, the Irish Prime Minister. Varadkar was accompanied by Nick Miller, the Irish government press secretary; Brian Murphy, his chief of staff; Philip O’Callaghan, his deputy chief of staff, and Geraldine Byrne Nason, Irish ambassador to the US; some of whom were printed on the cards.
It’s not uncommon for Biden to carry his ‘cheat codes’ while attending events or meeting foreign leaders, raising concerns about the mental fitness of the leader of the world’s most powerful nation.
‘Entirely normal for US president’
However, officials in his administration stress the process is entirely “normal.” In April last year, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had told reporters that “It is entirely normal for a president to be briefed on reporters who will be asking questions at a press conference and issues that we expect they might ask about.”
The response came after Biden was seen carrying cards laying out even basic information as to where to stand.
“YOU enter the Roosevelt Room and say hello to participants. YOU take YOUR seat,” one detailed card read in June 2022.
Biden’s age: The elephant in the room
Ahead of the upcoming presidential polls, Biden’s age has become one of the most-pressed issues in the country’s politics. According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in February, a whopping 86 per cent of Americans think Biden is too old to serve another term in office.
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In fact, 73 per cent of Democrats also think Biden is too old to serve.
A major controversy erupted after special counsel Robert Hur recommended that Biden should not face charges over his handling of classified documents while out of office and cast doubt on his mental fitness.
(With inputs from agencies)
