Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Joe Biden's mental acuity after special counsel Robert Hur questioned it.
During an interview on ABC's This Week program, host Jonathan Karl noted that Hur had described Biden as an elderly man with a poor memory.
"You've known Joe Biden for decades, and you've dealt with him a lot over the course of this conflict," Karl told Netanyahu. "What's your assessment of him?"
"Well, John, I've had more than a dozen phone conversations, extended phone conversations with President Biden," the Israeli leader replied. "He also came on a visit to Israel during wartime, which is a historic first."
"And I found him very clear and very focused," he added. "We managed to agree on the war aims and on many things."
UPDATE: Here is a readout of today's call between Biden and Bibi. Not exactly a feeble-minded conversation.
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke this morning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The President reaffirmed our shared goal to see Hamas defeated and to ensure the long-term security of Israel and its people. The President and the Prime Minister discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas. The President emphasized the need to capitalize on progress made in the negotiations to secure the release of all hostages as soon as possible. He also called for urgent and specific steps to increase the throughput and consistency of humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians. And he reaffirmed his view that a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there. The two leaders agreed to remain in close contact.
