‘An Elderly Man with Poor Memory’: Biden’s Age Old Problem
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 February 2024
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A bombshell report from Special Counsel Robert Hur has raised serious questions about President Joe Biden's memory, which the White House has been quick to rebuff.
The report criticised the president for retaining classified information but rejected prosecution, arguing that Biden would likely present himself at trial as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory".
Americast dissects the details of this breaking story with Sarah Baxter, Director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting and a former US correspondent.
And as Tucker Carlson becomes the first Western journalist to sit down one-on-one with Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine, Justin and Anthony give their instant reaction to the interview as it drops.
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent
GUEST: • Sarah Baxter, Director of Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting in New York
GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast
US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s new BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155
This episode was made by George Dabby, Rufus Gray, Catherine Fusillo, and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The series producer is George Dabby. The senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:04.6 | This is an emergency episode of America, |
| 0:07.1 | I'm recording this late night in Britain because the President has just been described, Joe Biden has just been described as a well-meaning |
| 0:16.4 | elderly man with a poor memory. You might think, well, lots of Americans might already have described him in that way certainly his opponents have |
| 0:25.6 | but it wasn't his opponents it wasn't his enemies it was a council a special council who had looked into whether or not he should be prosecuted for taking |
| 0:37.0 | classified documents home with him when he was vice president, when he finished being |
| 0:41.5 | vice president and the decision frankly |
| 0:44.7 | appears to be quite devastating for Joe Biden because the decision is not |
| 0:50.2 | to prosecute him because of that phrase, because he is well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory. |
| 0:58.1 | That the lawyers say is how he would come across to a jury so there is no point in prosecuting him and |
| 1:05.4 | that of course raises in the minds not just of his opponents but of many |
| 1:09.9 | many Democrats already shaky about whether or not this man should be reelected in the |
| 1:15.9 | autumn and should be standing in the autumn. The ramifications of all of this which seem for |
| 1:21.3 | Joe Biden to be pretty gloomy and seem for American politics. of this |
| 1:25.0 | the emergency edition of America. |
| 1:28.0 | Coming up in this emergency edition of AmeriCast. |
| 1:36.0 | AmeriCast. AmeriCast. Americast from BBC News. Let me start off with two herbs. |
| 1:38.0 | Made in America. |
| 1:40.0 | I'm not running for state here. |
| 1:41.0 | I'm running for president. |
| 1:42.0 | I did everything right and they indicted me. I can chew and walk |
| 1:45.8 | on at the same time. There is no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity. |
... |
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