Biden's state of mind

Harris is “ready” to succeed him

Harris recently defended Biden against an unflattering special report.(Bild: AFP)

Amid the debate about US President Joe Biden's age, Vice President Kamala Harris has emphasized her readiness to serve her country. A special investigator recently attested that her boss has a "poor memory". 

"I am ready to serve my country. There's no doubt about that," the Democrat said in an interview published by the Wall Street Journal on Monday. Anyone who sees her at work would come to the conclusion that she is capable of leading.

Explosive report by special investigator
According to the newspaper, the interview was conducted two days before the publication of a report by a special investigator, which contained unflattering assessments of President Biden's memory. In the report, special investigator Robert Hur dealt with the 81-year-old's document affair and decided not to press charges.

Harris wants to take responsibility in an emergency.(Bild: AP)

However, the assessment that Biden came across as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a bad memory" caused a stir. Hur also cited the president's supposedly poor memory as an argument that a jury would never find the president guilty in a hypothetical trial.

Biden's great weakness is his age
The comments caused a stir nine months before the US presidential election, in which Biden is expected to run against his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.

Voters see Biden's advanced age as a major weakness of the US Democrat, who is already the oldest president in US history and has repeatedly caused a stir with slips of the tongue and mix-ups. The Republicans are exploiting Biden's verbal missteps with relish - although their prospective presidential candidate Trump is also repeatedly raising eyebrows with bizarre statements.

The US constitution stipulates that the vice president takes the place of the president if the latter dies or is no longer able to perform his or her duties. However, this does not mean that Harris will automatically become the Democratic presidential candidate should Biden drop out of the race before the election.