Biden is "palpably senile and the country can see it": Brit Hume
Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume breaks down concern over President Biden's mental acuity amid troubling poll numbers for his re-election campaign on 'Special Report.'
Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume is not surprised by the growing concerns about President Biden's age and mental acuity – he believes they have been a "ticking time bomb."
Asked on Super Tuesday whether he could have envisioned months ago current polls showing independent voters leaning toward former President Trump on a number of issues, Hume chalked it up at least in part to President Biden's cognizance.
"I was saying back when it was not at all fashionable to say it, that he is senile. And now I think he is palpably senile and the country sees it," Hume said on "Special Report" as Super Tuesday polls prepared to close in 15 states and American Samoa.
Hume said a major challenge for Biden lies later in the week when he will give the annual State of the Union on Thursday, highlighting that the president must prove to Americans that he is not too old for the job.
Biden has been dogged by several newsmaking gaffes in recent weeks, including a reference to Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as the "president of Mexico" while discussing the Israel-Gaza conflict, and instances where he recounted talking to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President François Mitterrand several years after they died.
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The president also caused a stir after a Connecticut speech on gun control in 2023, when he closed his remarks with "God Save the Queen, man." By that time, King Charles III had become the British monarch upon the passing of his mother Elizabeth II the year prior.
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On "Special Report," anchor Bret Baier further questioned Hume on Biden's upcoming State of the Union, citing contentious moments from past addresses, where Republicans were seen visibly objecting to Biden's claim the GOP wants Medicare and Social Security to "sunset" – as well as comments about the need for a secure border, which elicited interjections of "wall!"
"The entitlement issue is still a big issue, both parties [are] not dealing with it. But you wonder how the State of the Union is going to set up on the issue of Israel, for example," Baier said.
Hume said Biden came out "strong" in favor of Israel but has since "rhetorically moved away" from the Jewish State.
"Reports are the White House is furious with Benjamin Netanyahu and the president has talked about the need for more humanitarian aid into Gaza and all the rest of it, which suggests he's softening on his support. I'm not sure he really is. But it's a big issue," he said.
"And within his own party, his support for Israel is hurting him with a wing of the party which is considerably larger than it is in the Republican Party, for example, that is very sympathetic toward the Arab side in this conflict and long has been and especially toward those who are suffering in Gaza."