Hawaii governor defends Biden amid scrutiny: He still understands ‘complex policies’

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) defended Biden Friday amid scrutiny over the president’s age and mental fitness, arguing Biden was “quite sharp” during his press conference at NATO’s Washington summit Thursday.  

“He’s quite sharp,” Green said, reacting to a clip of Biden speaking from the press conference. “Look, an 81-year-old gentleman is going to have moments where they skip a word, where they feel exhausted — that was the case when we had Ronald Reagan (R) as president, and he went on to two terms that are viewed as particularly successful by many,” The Hawaii governor said in an interview on “The Hill on NewsNation” with host Blake Burman.

Green, also a physician, added that Trump and Biden are older men, meaning they will likely have “bad days.” 

“You’re going to see bad days on on the part of former President Trump also. These two gentlemen are old. Is that a surprise? No, it doesn’t take a physician to tell you that,” he said. 

“What I can tell you is that cognitively, he is quite able to put major complex policies together,” Green said, referring to Biden.

Green dismissed some concerns about Biden’s ability to do the job, saying that the president’s team has delivered years of “great work.”

“I got to see him firsthand because we had the Maui wildfire just under a year ago. He walked, you know, he walked the disaster zone with us. He greeted 300 people,” he said. 

Responding to Burman’s questions about concerns Biden’s team is insulating and isolating the president, said such a strategy is common no matter what the circumstances.

“Teams — of course they protect their principal — they do that for Mr. Trump, they do that for Biden, they’ve always done that for every president,” Green said.

“Ronald Reagan, in his last two years, was completely surrounded by his inner circle, and mostly Nancy Reagan. And everyone felt that he had severe decline then, but he was still our president,” Green added.

Green’s remarks come after Biden met with Democratic governors last week — including Green. Governors emerged from that meeting saying they “have his back” and that they have full confidence in the president’s ability to serve and win. 

The number of Democratic congressional lawmakers calling for Biden to step aside has continued to rise following the Thursday press conference, though.

Despite Democratic governors reaffirming their support for Biden, New York Lt. Gov Antonio Delgado has also called for the president to stand down.

“I have immense respect and admiration for his [President Biden’s] deep and abiding commitment to the American people and our founding democratic ideals. He can add to his legacy, showing his strength and grace, by ending his campaign and making room for a new leader,” Delgado wrote in a post to social platform X Wednesday.

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