Brit Hume: Biden's misstatements could provide a big boost to 2020 rival Warren

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Hume says Biden gaffes, fading memory could hurt candidate

Hume says Biden gaffes, fading memory could hurt candidate

If Democrats grow more concerned about former Vice President Joe Biden's verbal missteps, they could begin to consider nominating another candidate, according to Brit Hume.

Biden may mean well when he speaks incorrectly, but such mistakes could bring about a perception of "fading memory," Hume said Friday on "Special Report."

"I think it could become a very big deal indeed," he said.

"He's often misspoken and made gaffes. A number of these recent ones strike me as a man with fading memory -- which is to be expected of a man his age," Hume continued, adding he and Biden, who's 76, are both around the same age.

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"Over time people may begin to say, 'well he means well but he can't remember enough, he's not sharp'."

Hume added such a mindset could end up also hurting fellow candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, who turns 78 early next month.

"If that perception takes hold amongst Democrats, I think it could spill over and hurt Bernie Sanders because of his age," the Fox News analyst said.

"My guess is the immediate benefactor of that would be Elizabeth Warren, who is somewhat younger." The Massachusetts Democrat is 70 years old.

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Hume added Warren is a progressive, and thereby also fits the "ideological profile" of what many Democratic primary voters appear to be seeking in a nominee.

Last week, Biden claimed during a campaign stop that a four-star general asked the then-vice president to travel to Konar, Afghanistan, to award a medal to a Navy captain.

According to the Washington Post, Biden visited that part of Afghanistan while a U.S. senator in 2008, and the soldier involved in the rescue he cited was a young Army specialist, not a Navy captain.