US President Joe Biden and former US President Donald Trump
TEHRAN – US President Joe Biden has attacked his predecessor and election challenger Donald Trump with jokes about the latter’s mental fitness to compete for the White House.
Biden took jabs on Saturday during a speech at the traditional Gridiron Club dinner where politicians and journalists trade humorous barbs.
At the event, the incumbent American leader also rejected the criticisms and news about his poor memory and lack of alertness, pointing to moments when the 77-year-old Republican Trump made mistakes as well.
"Trump thinks he's competing with Barack Obama", the 81-year-old Biden said during the dinner which he attended for the first time since he assumed post in 2020.
As the 2024 presidential election draws near, the competition between Biden and Trump has increased, several recent opinion polls suggest US voters doubt the mental capabilities of both candidates.
More than 6 in 10 (63 percent) of those surveyed said they were not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental capability to serve effectively as president.
A similar but slightly smaller share (57 percent) said that Trump lacks the memory and acuity for the job, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Declining popularity
Meanwhile, the support for the Israeli war on Gaza has taken a huge toll on the US president’s approval rating, which declined to the lowest level.
According to the recent national NBC News poll, only 40 percent of Americans approved of his performance but strong majorities of all voters disapprove of his handling of foreign policy.
Biden claims Trump not mentally competent
Biden reportedly expressed unhappiness and unease after learning that his popularity had even decreased in Michigan and Georgia polls over Israel's war against Palestinians.
An informed official was quoted by the media on Sunday night that Biden claimed in a private meeting in the White House in January that he had the right policy against the issue.
Andrew Bates, the White House spokesman in response to a question in this regard claimed that Biden’s decisions are only based on American security needs and that no other factors influence his decisions.
But ordinary Americans, as seen in recent pro-Palestine protests across the country, blame Biden for the Israeli war on the besieged Palestinian territory and his failure to establish a ceasefire, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of innocent lives there. (IRNA)
