Newly leaked audio from a 2023 interview between then-President Joe Biden and Special Counsel Robert Hur is fueling renewed scrutiny over Biden’s mental fitness, revealing moments of significant cognitive difficulty. The recordings, obtained by Axios, capture Biden struggling to recall critical dates — including when his son Beau died and the year Donald Trump was elected.
The release has prompted an immediate wave of criticism from prominent conservatives and media figures. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk accused Democratic insiders of knowingly concealing Biden’s decline: “Nobody can listen to it without concluding that every Democrat working with Biden HAS to have known he was completely feeble as a commander in chief.”
Fox News contributor Guy Benson described the recording as “painful” and added, “The smears of Hur and the defenses of Biden look even worse.” Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones III called for deeper investigation: “We need a Biden commission. The entire cabinet and White House staff must be sworn under oath.”
Former NYPD inspector Paul Mauro weighed in on the administration’s initial resistance to releasing the tape, remarking, “This is painful…No wonder Biden's DOJ wouldn't release it.”
Fox News host Hugh Hewitt argued the leak underscores national security risks: “Everyone involved in the cover-up put the country at risk because what we knew, all of our country’s enemies knew.”
Monica Crowley, former U.S. Ambassador and Chief of Protocol, went even further, calling it the “BIGGEST SCANDAL IN U.S. HISTORY.”
Jake Schneider with the White House Rapid Response team took a victory lap, writing, “We literally spent years trying to tell you. Please stop acting shocked that Biden was senile, incompetent, and unfit for office.”
Fox News senior analyst Brit Hume highlighted how the leak cast new light on the harsh criticism Hur received at the time: “As you read this thread, recall all the crap Biden partisans said about Robert Hur.”