Biden surrogate clashes with NBC host over questions about president's competence
Biden adviser Mitch Landrieu battled with Kristen Welker Sunday on "Meet the Press" as the president faces increased concerns from his own party and media pundits over his mental acuity.
Landrieu defended Biden after Special Counsel Robert Hur's damning report cast doubts on the president's mental sharpness and included details that Biden could not remember the date of his son Beau's death, among other important facts in his life.
"I can testify because I’ve been working very closely with this president for the past two years," Landrieu said.
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"I've known him for 30 years," he continued. "I have met with him personally, with two people, five people, 10 people, I have been on trips with him criss-crossing the country rebuilding America based on this incredible infrastructure bill that was passed, and I’m telling you this guy is tough. He’s smart. He’s on his game and as Secretary Mayorkas said a minute ago, when you go in to brief the president you better have your big boy pants on and this sense that he’s not ready for this job is a bucket of BS so deep your boots would get stuck in it."
Landrieu also strongly objected to Welker's claims that Biden, while not charged with criminal mishandling of documents, was found to be reckless with classified materials in his position.
"Well, wait, Kristen, wait," he told Welker. "No, no, no, no, you can’t. No, no, no, I’m not going to accept that premise. In an investigation, a special counsel determined, based on the facts and the law, about whether somebody engaged in criminal wrongdoing."
"He’s the only special counsel that’s been engaged in this kind of activity that had to say that he could not indict somebody. And that is a fact. And so that’s the big takeaway from this report, from a legal perspective," Landrieu said.
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Landrieu also responded directly to the detail in Hur's report that Biden could not remember the date that his son Beau died.
"Their swooning over whether or not the president remembered the year that his son died and therefore is not fit to be president is just really sad, and below the belt and unnecessary," he said.
Landreiu defended Biden for declining to give a Super Bowl interview because Americans are more interested in the game itself.
"I think people really want to watch the Super Bowl tonight and think about football. They don't want to hear from a politician, so I think he made the right choice for himself at this time," he said.