President Joe Biden has acknowledged the mounting fears over his old age in a new re-election campaign video.
The 81-year-old poked fun at what is thought to be his greatest liability as a presidential candidate on Friday.
‘Look, I’m not a young guy. That’s no secret,’ he insisted as he spoke directly to the camera. ‘But here’s the deal: I understand how to get things done for the American people.’
Biden went on to list the accomplishments of his first term as president which he compared to his political rival Donald Trump.
It comes after a bombshell special counsel report which highlighted his mental challenges was published last month.
President Joe Biden has acknowledged the mounting fears over his old age in a new re-election campaign video
The 81-year-old poked fun at what is thought to be his greatest liability as a presidential candidate on Friday
Biden used the new political ad to praise his own handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the cap on insulin prices for elderly consumers as well as the passing of infrastructure legislation.
In acknowledging Trump, he accused him of taking away ‘the freedom of women to choose’ when it comes to reproductive health.
His latest advert is the first in a $30million plan which will target key battleground states over six weeks.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their partners are travelling across the country and hosting political events.
While the president usually jokes about his old age in smaller settings, his latest comments could anger the public following the report which labelled him as a ‘well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’.
The advert, which is titled For You, is lighter in tone and could be used to appeal to younger voters.
It will play on channels which have a younger target audience like ESPN, Adult Swim and Comedy Central.
The clip included an outtake where a voice off-camera asks him to do another take.
‘Look, I’m very young, energetic and handsome,’ Biden says with a grin. ‘What the hell am I doing this for?’
The Department of Justice released its long-awaited investigation into the Biden’s mishandling of classified documents on February 8, delivering a damning assessment of his ‘diminished faculties’ and limited memory.
‘Look, I’m not a young guy. That’s no secret,’ Biden insisted as he spoke directly to the camera. ‘But here’s the deal: I understand how to get things done for the American people.’
It comes after a bombshell special counsel report which highlighted his mental challenges was published last month
The president is preparing to face off with Trump in the upcoming election but appears to be trailing behind him in recent polls
The special counsel report into Biden did not recommend bringing charges against him but it provided a cascade of damaging findings about files found in his garage as well as the president’s fitness for office.
In interviews with investigators, Biden became muddled about the dates he was vice president and could not even remember the year in which his son Beau died.
Biden angrily lashed out at a press conference – but mixed up the presidents of Egypt and Mexico, galvanizing concerns he is unfit for the job.
The report said his cavalier attitude to classified documents, such as his habit of reading sensitive files to a ghostwriter, posed a significant national security risk.
One of the reasons they decided not to press charges was because ‘at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’.
Biden is said to have been unimpressed at Attorney General Merrick Garland over the report, according to two sources close to the president, as it could threaten his presidential campaign.
The president is preparing to face off with Trump in the upcoming election but appears to be trailing behind him in recent polls.
Both RealClearPolitics’ polling average and Five Thirty-Eight’s polling average show Trump leading Biden in the majority of the recent national polls on the 2024 presidential race.
However a combination of polls in individual states, mixed in with national polls, paints a better picture for the president.
A new New York Times/Siena College poll released Saturday has Trump leading Biden 48 percent to 44 percent.
While a recent poll from CBS News had Trump leading Biden 52 percent to 48 percent. Biden did lead in a Morning Consult poll but by one point: 44 percent to 43.