Questions about Mr Biden’s age are a growing concern for Democrat strategists planning an election campaign against likely Republican candidate Donald Trump.
On Sunday, Mr Trump was criticised by the Nato general secretary after suggesting Russia should be “encouraged” to target any alliance member that fails to meet defence spending targets.
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that 86 per cent of Americans believe Mr Biden is too old to serve a second term in the White House. That included 73 per cent of Democrat voters.
Mr Biden’s allies condemned the report’s remarks as inappropriate and unfair.
On Sunday, his personal lawyer said he registered concerns with the special counsel and the attorney general over what he said were pejorative and unnecessary digs at the president’s memory.
“This is a report that went off the rails,” Bob Bauer said on CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday. “It’s a shabby work product.”
Jill Biden, the First Lady, defended her husband in a note to his campaign donors and questioned whether it was intended to “score political points”.
Ms Clinton also said she is endorsing Mr Biden’s campaign for a second presidential term because of his “merits”.
“Once you say that, you need to also talk about what is at stake in this election,” Ms Clinton said. “And I’m for Joe Biden because of the merits.”
“I think he has done a really good job as president,” she added.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
