Donald Trump has lashed out at what he called a “cover-up” of Joe Biden’s mental decline, following the release of audio recordings from Biden’s 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. The 47th president condemned the efforts by Biden’s aides and the media to obscure the president’s condition, saying, “They were really playing games.And you know, you can’t do that. Our country’s at stake.”“You see, even a thing like this there’s so many decisions for billions and billions but then you have even more important decisions,” he said. “You have decisions for life.”The audio, released by Axios on Friday, painted a troubling picture of the then-president’s cognitive health. In the recordings, Biden repeatedly struggles to recall key details, including the year Donald Trump was elected and when his own son, Beau Biden, died. While transcripts of the six-hour interview had been available since early 2024, the newly released clips underscore Hur’s controversial characterisation of Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”.Trump seized on the audio’s release, using it to bolster long-standing claims about Biden’s fitness to serve. “I know people that are 89, 90, 92, 93 years old that are literally perfect, but Joe was not one of them,” he said. “And they did a lot of hiding.” He added that such concealment had dangerous implications: “You have decisions for life, and you can’t have a man in that condition. And everybody was holding back, including the press, including the media.”During the interview, which was conducted over two days at the White House in October 2023, Biden’s lawyers were frequently heard interjecting to supply words or correct him. In one instance, Biden appeared confused about why he kept a classified memo on Afghanistan, vaguely suggesting it was “for posterity’s sake” before his attorney clarified he had no memory of intentionally retaining the document.The Biden administration had previously resisted releasing the audio, citing executive privilege and concerns it could deter cooperation with future investigations. But Republicans pushed for its release, arguing it was critical for public transparency. After Attorney General Merrick Garland only authorised the release of the transcript, House Republicans voted to hold him in contempt of Congress.With Biden now out of office and Kamala Harris defeated in 2024, pressure has mounted within the Democratic Party to confront the legacy of Biden’s final years in power. A new book, Original Sin, and comments from Democrats like Pete Buttigieg and Chris Murphy have acknowledged signs of cognitive decline during Biden’s presidency.
