NBC’s Chuck Todd grilled Minnesota Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar on President Joe Biden’s health and his son, Hunter Biden, on Sunday.
The discussion was based on a new NBC News poll which found that 68% of people are concerned Biden does not possess “necessary” mental and physical capabilities to serve as president.
“We got a new poll out. We asked various questions having to do with President Biden and his ability to do the job. Does he have the mental and physical health to serve? The concern among Democrats has doubled since October 2020. It was only one in five Democrats that had that concern before Election Day 2020. It’s now over 40%, it’s 43%. You were just with the president at the state dinner. Do you have any concerns?” Todd asked.
“No, I don’t. He did so well at that state dinner. I think we all saw his power at the State of the Union. Our party is united behind him, why? Because we work in a results-oriented business, Chuck, and he has gotten results. [He] added over 13 million jobs since the beginning of his presidency. When he took over, our democracy was in shambles,” Klobuchar said, arguing Biden helped get the economy back on track while focusing on healthcare.
“Those aren’t small accomplishments, those are big-deal things.”
“I brought up the state dinner,” Todd continued. “Do you think it was appropriate for Hunter Biden to be at the same events as the Attorney General, Merrick Garland, was in the same week he accepted a plea deal?”
“You know, I think, as the president explains, that’s his son, that’s a separate thing and I would like to say about that, that decision was made by an independent prosecutor who is a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who had 10 years of experience, well-respected. [The] Philadelphia Enquirer reported that he was a registered Republican. He looked at the facts and evidence and made that decision,” Klobuchar said. “And by the way, if that’s what the Republicans want to run on in the coming election, good luck, because the president is going to be able to run on the strength of his work in bringing 13 million jobs back to America in resurging — ”
“You understand the perception,” Todd immediately interjected. “You understand the perception issue of something like that though?”
“Yes, I do,” Klobuchar said. (RELATED: MSNBC Analyst John Heilemann Says Republicans ‘Sound Like Morons’ For Claiming Hunter Biden Plea Is Sweetheart Deal)
“Do you wish that perception were different?” Todd asked.
“You always wish there were different perceptions, but that’s not reality,” she said. “Reality is whether or not someone is going to be able to get their insulin and the president has made changes. Reality is whether someone has a job. Reality is when they can visit their grandma again in an assisted living [home] … not who is sitting where at a state dinner.”
Hunter was charged by Trump-appointed U.S. attorney David Weiss with illegally possessing a handgun while on drugs in 2018 and failing to pay federal taxes in 2017 and 2018. The president’s son has agreed to plead guilty to the tax misdemeanors and entered a probation agreement for the gun charge. He is unlikely to serve any jail time.
Hunter has also remained in the spotlight after IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley testified before members of Congress. He alleged Hunter threatened Chinese business associate Henry Zhao, while saying his father, Joe Biden, was sitting next to him and that Zhao would “regret not following my direction.”