Hillary Clinton weighed in on concerns surrounding President Biden’s age, saying it’s a “legitimate issue.”
“I talked to people in the White House all the time, and you know, they know it’s an issue, but as I like to say, ‘look, it’s a legitimate issue,’” Clinton told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner on Wednesday.
The former Democratic presidential nominee noted that it is also a “legitimate issue” for former President Donald Trump in his campaign for the Republican nomination.
“It’s a legitimate issue for Trump who’s only three years younger, right?” Clinton said. “So it’s an issue.”
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Hillary Clinton dismissed concerns over President Bidens age on Thursday during an appearance on “Morning Joe.” ((Left: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque, Right: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein))
The former first lady continued, saying that she is for Biden because of his “merits.”
“Once you say that, you need to also talk about what is at stake in this election,” Clinton continued. “And I’m for Joe Biden because of the merits.”
“I think he has done a really good job as president,” she added.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband, former U.S. president Bill Clinton. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))
Clinton suggested that the president should focus more on the wisdom he has gained over the years and “kid” about his age.
“I think Biden also should lean into the fact that he’s experienced, and that experience is not just in the political arena,” she said. “It’s like, the stuff of, you know, human experience, character, wisdom.
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“I think he should be willing to really pull that out … and I think he should kid more about it,” Clinton said.
Democratic strategist James Carville during a recent appearance on “Real Time.” (Screenshot/HBO)
Hillary’s comment came as former President Bill Clinton’s lead strategist, James Carville, argued Saturday that the White House has little confidence in President Biden after he turned down a Super Bowl Sunday interview.
Carville, a long-time Democrat, gave his take on the situation while being interviewed on CNN on Saturday.
“It’s the biggest television audience, not even close, and you get a chance to do a 20-25-minute interview on that day,” Carville began.
“And you don’t do it? That’s a kind of sign that the staff or yourself doesn’t have much confidence in you,” Carville continued. “There’s no other way to read this.”
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Earlier this week, former Bill Clinton strategist and CNN political commentator Paul Begala admitted that Special Counsel Robert Hur’s indictment of President Biden’s memory and Biden’s response was “terrible for Democrats.”
“Oh yeah. Look, I’m a Biden supporter, and I slept like a baby last night: I woke up every two hours crying and wet the bed,” Begala quipped on CNN last Friday.
“This is terrible for Democrats. And anybody with a functioning brain knows that,” he declared.
President Joe Biden held a press conference on Thursday in response to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s description of his age and memory. (Reuters)
The top democratic strategists’ comments came after Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report revealed that Biden willfully retained classified U.S. documents as a private citizen.
The report recommenced no charges against the 46th president over his actions, partly because he would have a defense at trial as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
