House Speaker Mike Johnson: Biden presser ‘confirmed’ he isn’t fit for office

Original article here.

In the wake of a Thursday evening press conference in which President Joe Biden attempted to defend himself against accusations of memory loss and assert his fitness for office, one of the highest-ranking elected office holders in the nation has deemed him unfit to be president.

“The President’s press conference this evening further confirmed on live television what the Special Counsel report outlined. He is not fit to be President,” House Speaker Mike Johnson declared in response to the episode. The Speaker of the House is third in line for the presidency, positioned only behind the vice president in the order of precedence.

Biden’s press conference saw him address claims in special counsel Robert Hur’s report about his handling of classified materials. The president pointed to Hur’s decision not to bring charges, but fumed over Hur’s claim he could not remember when his son Beau died and appeared forgetful in an interview. Biden asserted his memory is “fine” but later proceeded to erroneously labeled Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as the “President of Mexico.”

Biden’s mental acuity has long been the subject of scrutiny in light of both his age and penchant for lapses in memory. Earlier this week, he made unrelated gaffes claiming to have met with late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 2021, years after his death. At a separate event the same week, he conflated current French President Emmanuel Macron with former President François Mitterrand, who died decades ago.