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Conservative lawyer George Conway has defended President Joe Biden amid concerns about his mental faculties, while claiming that former President Donald Trump is a "basket case" who is even more prone to gaffes.
Conway, the estranged husband of former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, said during a Friday night interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper that a "five-hour" clip or a "weekend special" could be assembled of Trump making "absurd, and embarrassing and inaccurate" statements.
The Context
Republicans frequently criticize Biden for public speaking blunders that include apparent lapses in memory, with many claiming that the president is suffering from "cognitive decline."
Others have pointed out that Trump makes similar slip-ups without receiving the same level of scrutiny, such as recently confusing his GOP presidential challenger Nikki Haley with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Criticism over Biden's alleged memory issues ramped up on Thursday with the release of a report from Special Counsel Robert Hur, a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who was tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland last year to lead the investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.
Although the report found that Biden's conduct did not warrant criminal charges, Hur painted the president as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," alleging that he could not remember when he was vice president or when his son Beau Biden died.
What We Know
Conway, a frequent Trump critic, told Cooper during his interview on Friday night that he "care[s] about the mental condition of presidents" but saw no evidence of Biden being "unable to carry out his duties."
"The notion that somehow Joe Biden is getting trashed on for forgetting a few things, you know, whatever they are," said Conway. "You could do a five-hour ... you could do a weekend special on all the clips of Donald Trump saying absurd, and embarrassing and inaccurate things."
"I once did a Twitter thread of like 25 or 30 things that he got wrong," he continued. "Even if Donald Trump were the 'stable genius' that he says he was ... the man is a basket case. You know, he has two major personality disorders ... That's what makes him unfit, not the fact that he makes verbal slips."
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, responded to a request for comment by sending Newsweek the following statement via email: "George Conway suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, which has clouded his judgement and upended his mental stability."
Views
Republicans, particularly members of Trump's MAGA movement, have latched onto the Hur report as evidence that Biden is unfit to serve as president. Some called on Congress to remove Biden from office on Thursday, either by invoking the Constitution's 25th Amendment or by impeaching the president.
"Joe Biden isn't capable to stand trial for all of the classified documents he stole after leaving office as a Senator and VP, yet he's capable of carrying around the nuclear football?" GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"Joe Biden is unfit to serve as POTUS!" she added. "Two solutions: 25th Amendment or impeachment."
Meanwhile, Biden's supporters have accused Republicans of hypocrisy for criticizing the president's mental state and age, pointing out that Trump has also had a series of apparent memory lapses and is only slightly younger at 77.
In a post to X, social media personality Brian Krassenstein accused the president's critics of being "disingenuous" for "calling out Biden's memory but ignoring the fact that Trump 'did not recall' 30+ times under oath," while adding that "people make mistakes and misspeak all the time."
What's Next?
Claims about Biden's alleged diminishing mental capabilities, and counterclaims about Trump, are unlikely to disappear before the presidential candidates likely face off in November's election.
Biden defended his mental abilities in a fiery press conference hours after the release of Hur's report, saying, "how in the hell dare [Hur] raise" the issue of Beau Biden's death, which happened in May 2015 following a bout with brain cancer.
However, the president also exposed himself to more mental fitness mockery by incorrectly referring to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as "the president of Mexico" later during the same press conference.
Similarly, Trump mistakenly claimed that Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson was "now" serving as "a fantastic White House doctor" while defending his cognitive state following criticism from Haley last month. Jackson left the position in 2018.
Update 2/12/24, 3:40 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with a comment from Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung.
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About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more