海角大神

Voter concerns about President Joe Biden鈥檚 age and mental acuity have long been his biggest liability.

And a day that technically brought him good news on the legal front 鈥� a special counsel鈥檚 decision not to file criminal charges over President Biden鈥檚 mishandling of classified documents from his days as vice president 鈥� may have compounded that political challenge.

In a hastily scheduled appearance before the cameras Thursday evening, Mr. Biden took exception to special counsel Robert Hur鈥檚 characterization of him聽 as someone who would come off in court as 鈥渁 well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.鈥�

鈥淢y memory is fine,鈥� Mr. Biden said testily, even as he misidentified Egypt鈥檚 president as the president of Mexico.聽Mr. Biden has also recently misstated the leaders of Germany and France in remarks at fundraisers, referring to long-ago leaders as if they are still alive and in power.

Former President Donald Trump 鈥� the heavy favorite for his party鈥檚 2024 presidential nomination 鈥� has also misstated key figures in recent months, appearing to mix up top Republican challenger Nikki Haley and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and apparently confusing the leaders of Turkey and Hungary.

But surveys make clear that voters see the 81-year-old incumbent鈥檚 mental and physical health as a greater problem than that of the 77-year-old former president.

released Thursday, before the special counsel report and Mr. Biden鈥檚 response, showed that 76% of registered voters have major (61%) or minor (14%) concerns about the president鈥檚 physical and mental state. Fewer than half have the same concerns about former President Trump. Mr. Trump鈥檚 multiple felony charges are a much bigger issue for voters, with聽61% saying they have concerns, per NBC.

Mr. Biden 鈥撀�the oldest president in American history 鈥� is not the only Washington politician of advanced years. Congress features many super-agers,聽some of whom don鈥檛 raise an eyebrow when it comes to their perceived vigor and sharpness, and others who do. Aging is highly individual and does not necessarily determine one鈥檚 ability to function at a high level.聽

Still, serving as president of the United States, the highest-profile leadership role on the planet, is a uniquely challenging job.

Mr. Biden鈥檚 lawyers objected strongly to Mr. Hur鈥檚 many references to the president鈥檚 memory, saying his 鈥渋nability to recall dates or details of events that happened years ago is neither surprising nor unusual,鈥� especially given the particulars of storing and packing materials between residences.

Democratic strategists, too, have pushed back strongly on the Hur report as a political hit job by a Republican special counsel that went far beyond his purview.

Mr. Biden鈥檚 advisers have long tried to limit his interactions with the media. In three-plus years in office, the president has had , compared with 88 during Mr. Trump鈥檚 one term and 163 over President Barack Obama鈥檚 two terms.

Most of the time, when Mr. Biden takes questions from reporters, in formal or informal settings, the interactions have been innocuous, and convey an openness to scrutiny that seems essential to a functioning democracy.

But such scrutiny comes with risk.

In Thursday night鈥檚 contentious session,聽Mr. Biden emotionally took special exception to references to his late son, Beau Biden, whose death in 2015 was noted by the special counsel as a reason not to prosecute the president.聽鈥淗ow in the hell dare he raise that,鈥� Mr. Biden said.

Yet as the assembled reporters shouted question after question about his memory, it ran the risk of reinforcing the issue in voters鈥� minds. It also produced uncomfortable moments. A particularly aggressive question from a Fox News reporter exemplified the nature of the exchanges, and the difficulty of responding.

鈥淗ow bad is your memory, and can you continue as president?鈥� posed the reporter, Peter Doocy. The president shot back, 鈥淢y memory is so bad that I let you speak.鈥�