David Axelrod warns Biden presser 'reinforces the meme' that the president is too old: 'Can't unring the bell'
Axelrod noted, 'the most damaging things that can happen in politics [is] there are things that reinforce a meme that’s out there that is hurting you'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Obama advisor and CNN senior political analyst David Axelrod recently claimed that President Biden’s "angry" press conference in response to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on him "reinforces the meme" that the president is too old.
Axelrod told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper that the president’s defiant response Thursday night to Hur’s findings that he has "poor memory" and thus should not be charged for illegally holding classified documents, probably did not solve the "problem" of the majority of voters thinking he’s too old and too incompetent for the job.
The analyst, who has been critical of Biden’s age and fitness for office for months now, made his comments shortly after Biden finished the press conference where he dinged Hur for characterizing him as elderly and forgetful and sparred with reporters asking him about the special counsel’s points.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Obama advisor David Axelrod claims he doesn't think President Biden's press conference about his age and mental fitness helped the world leader. (Screenshot/CNN)
Axelrod began by stating he understands why Biden had the press conference, noting that Hur’s report was "red-hot and out there and list people felt he needed to – and his people felt he needed respond to it."
However, he added, "Whether the response was adequate, or whether it creates more problems, I think is another question."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He did contradict elements of the special counsel’s report. And that undoubtedly will go on," he said, adding, "And then he was quite angry, not just at the release, or the characterizations of the special counsel, but of what some of the reporters were asking him."
Axelrod stressed that the age and mental fitness issue is "a problem for the president" and warned that Biden seems to be "reinforcing" people’s impression of him as too old.
"Anderson, the most damaging things that can happen in politics – there are things that reinforce a meme that’s out there that is hurting you. And the central meme that is hurting the president is this issue of age. It’s a big barrier."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He continued, stating, "People don’t give him credit for what he’s done. They blame him for everything that happens and a lot of it has to do with their feelings about his age. So it’s not wise to say to a reporter, ‘That’s your interpretation.’ It’s not. There’s reams of polling material about this."
President Joe Biden holding a press conference in response to Special Counsel Robert Hur's description of his age and memory. (Reuters)
Axelrod concluded his point, saying, "But I’m not sure that he solved his problem tonight."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Later in the segment, the former Obama official responded to arguments saying that Biden’s gaffes at the presser – like getting the President of Egypt confused with the President of Mexico – are mistakes anyone can make when public speaking.
"It is true, all of us make mistakes at times, and misstate things. We’re human beings," Axelrod said, adding, "The problem is this has become a real thing. Now, every time the president does that, it becomes a story. It becomes the thing and it goes viral on social media, where he’s getting pounded on this age issue, particularly among younger people."
He concluded, "So that is a stubborn problem that is an obstacle to get, you know, in his campaign moving forward."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Axelrod made similar comments to The New York Times following the release of Hur’s report, saying, "Fair or not, you can’t unring the bell." He noted that report "goes to the core of what is plaguing Biden politically now, which is a widespread fear that he’s not up to it."