Secret paper affair in the USA
Biden – a little Trump
Secret documents have now been found not only on Donald Trump, but also on President Joe Biden. Even if Biden’s case is probably much smaller and he wants to cooperate with the investigators, he has lost his hard-earned bonus again.
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Joe Biden in his Corvette: Secret documents were found in the garage where he parks the classic car.
Guido Fieldsforeign editor
Much is still unclear in the secret paper affair, but one thing is certain: there is a clear difference between the finds at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and those in Joe Biden’s office and car garage. Republican Trump took around 300 secret documents home with him, including 60 top secret documents; according to initial findings and statements, Democrat Biden apparently has fewer than a dozen.
There is also a striking difference in the cooperation with the authorities: while Trump wants to prevent the investigation by all means and calls it a political witch hunt, Biden immediately agreed to cooperate in clarifying the case.
But these differences mean little at the moment. It’s about the principle. Biden had just pointed the finger at Trump and asserted that such a mistake could never happen to him. Biden called Trump’s handling of the papers last year “irresponsible”.
Now his clean image is scratched. Or is it – in addition to linguistic interruptions and a mistake in the garden – another indication that the 80-year-old president is no longer clear in his head?
The discovery of the secret papers comes at the worst possible moment for Biden. He is expected to announce soon whether he intends to run for president again. His support has grown again in recent months after a dry spell. This is shown by the results of the midterm elections on November 8th and the poll numbers.
But Biden gambled away his hard-earned bonus in one fell swoop. The secret documents affair and his absurd answer that the garage was locked give the Republicans a boost. The embarrassment that her Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the House of Representatives last week after only 15 rounds is forgotten. Trump’s chances of re-election are increasing.
What can the Democrats do? There is only one thing: Biden must disclose as quickly as possible which documents got to his home and how, and hope that they are non-essential papers. It’s his only chance to pull his shoe out of the mess and show he’s different from Trump.