As Joe Biden’s age and fitness dominate the list of voters’ concerns, the White House is “extremely upset” with New York Times' coverage of the incumbent president's dismal approval ratings.
In an interview with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, NY Times publisher AG Sulzberger, 43, called 81-year-old Biden a “historically unpopular incumbent” and “the oldest man to ever hold this office.”
“We’ve reported on both of those realities extensively, and the White House has been extremely upset about it,” he asserted.
The American journalist serving as chairman of The New York Times Company further pledged that NY Times will “continue to report fully and fairly” despite the flak it has received from the White House.
The publisher went on to clarify that “we are not saying that this is the same as [former President Donald Trump's] five court cases or that they are even. ”
“They are different. But they are both true, and the public needs to know both those things,” he Gray Lady’s publisher added.
{{/usCountry}}“They are different. But they are both true, and the public needs to know both those things,” he Gray Lady’s publisher added.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: What is Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on Biden's memory? 10 big claims
Biden and Democrats fret over Robert Hur's report
Concerns over Biden's age and memory intensified after Special Counsel Robert Hur delivered a report last month following an inquiry into his handling of sensitive papers found at his Delaware home and the Penn Biden Center office in Washington, D.C.
In the report, Hur stated that there was insufficient evidence "to establish Mr. Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," but the report did not recommend filing any charges against Biden. It did, however, mention that Biden "willfully retained and disclosed," classified documents during his tenure as former President Barack Obama's vice president.
"Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," the report said.
Also Report: ‘Politically motivated’: Kamala Harris slams Special Counsel Hur's report on Biden's age and memory
The report also highlights that Biden, during interviews with the Special Counsel, "did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended," and that "he did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."
Hours after Hur's research was released, Biden, the oldest president in American history, confused the president of Mexico with the president of Egypt in a heated argument with reporters, despite his insistence that his memory was "fine".
During a press briefing, White House Counsel spokesperson Ian Sams attempted to refute the conclusions of the alarming special counsel report that raised questions about Biden's age and mental health. Citing "a pressurised political environment", he said Republicans have "made up claims of a two-tiered system of justice between Republicans and Democrats".