‘What Is He Afraid Of?’ Jake Tapper Grills House Democrat on Biden Skipping Super Bowl Interview

CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) about President Joe Biden’s mental acuity on Friday, a day after the special counsel investigating Biden released details of a probe into the president.

Special Counsel Robert Hur wrote that Biden should not be criminally charged after he “willfully retained” classified documents upon leaving the Senate and the vice presidency. The report said that if charged, the president could appear to a jury “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” It further stated that Biden did not remember when he was vice president or when his son Beau Biden died. The president ripped the report’s depictions of him in a press conference.

On Friday’s edition of The Lead, Tapper played clips of Biden misidentifying world leaders while telling anecdotes. The host asked Garcia about the perception many voters have about the president.

“Forget what Robert Hur said in the report,” Tapper said. “This is President Biden speaking publicly. Do you understand why some Democrats – according to polls, a majority of Democrats – are concerned?”

“There should be no concern,” Garcia responded. “Here’s the reality. President Biden, who I’ve been around numerous times just in this last year, is sharp, he’s focused, he’s bright, he’s experienced. And with age also comes incredible wisdom. This is the most prepared person ever to be president of the United States.”

Tapper replied by noting Biden’s decision to decline to be interviewed before this year’s Super Bowl for a second year in a row:

TAPPER: He’s not doing the traditional Super Bowl interview with the network that’s hosting the Super Bowl, which this year is CBS. I understand not doing it last year with Fox. This year it’s CBS and he’s not doing that. That sends a signal to people. What is he afraid of when it comes to doing that interview?

GARCIA: He’s not afraid of anything. First, the president’s got a busy schedule. I mean, who cares if he’s not doing the Super Bowl interview? He just yesterday he did a primetime press conference. He spoke to House Democrats during the day, he’s traveling the country, he’s working on legislation. We’ve got multiple international conflicts across the globe.

Tapper responded by noting the Super Bowl’s massive viewership, as well as a subplot centering on Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce.

“It’s not that people care about whether or not he does the Super Bowl interview,” the host said. “It’s a missed opportunity to speak to tens of millions of Americans. And I have it under good authority, this year, there are gonna be a lot of Swifties watching. That’s a lot of women and men who might not normally be watching football who suddenly are.”

Watch above via CNN.