Democrat Party officials are taken aback by President Biden's health concerns.
In the last two years of his presidency, questions about U.S. President Joe Biden's mental and physical fitness have come to the fore. According to a new book by U.S. journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, Biden's inner circle has maintained him in power despite his growing decline.
The authors report that Biden has experienced moments of confusion, incoherence, and brain fog, often losing his train of thought. These incidents, they claim, have been hidden from the public. This decline, according to the book, has caused shock amongst Democratic lawmakers, White House staff, and cabinet members.
In the book, titled "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," Tapper and Thompson state that Biden embarked on a doomed re-election campaign, with few trying to deter him. They write that the world witnessed more than an anomaly during Biden's TV debate, saying it was an 81-year-old man who had been declining for years.
The book is based on more than 200 interviews, mainly with insiders from the Democratic Party, and was published on Tuesday. According to the book, concerns about Biden's health go back as far as 2020. In December 2022, Biden could not recall the names of his national security advisor Jake Sullivan and his communications director Kate Bedingfield. In early 2024, he didn't recognize actor George Clooney, a long-time acquaintance.
Some members of Biden's cabinet expressed doubts about his ability to handle a national emergency at 2 a.m., feeling that crises they could manage in 2023 would have been too much for Biden in 2024. Biden's advisors were referred to as the "Politburo," a tight circle that included his wife, son, and long-time advisors. They valued loyalty to him, withsome on the outside feeling they were being kept in the dark.
Biden's age and health sparked a wave of sympathy following his cancer diagnosis, even from former President Donald Trump. The debate over Biden's decision to run for re-election continues, with Vice President J.D. Vance questioning Biden's ability to do the job. According to the new book, Biden's staff had been concerned about his health as early as 2020, with his mental and physical decline accelerating particularly in the two years leading up to the disastrous debate with Donald Trump in June 2024.
On Friday, news portal Axios published an audio recording of Biden's interview with special advisor Robert Hur regarding the affair of secret documents. It makes clear why Hur described Biden as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with poor memory."
Biden's advisors have defended him, with a spokesperson for Biden criticizing the book and stating that Biden was a very effective president. Some members of Biden's team, however, have described him as "a different person" and "not a president" during Zoom calls with voters during the 2020 campaign. These concerns were linked to moments of intense stress, particularly Hunter Biden's legal problems.
The book describes how Democrats were shocked, both in private meetings and at fundraising events. Senators told the authors they noticed a discernible change in Biden at the start of 2024, finding it concerning but giving their former colleague the benefit of the doubt. After the election, a high-ranking official told the authors, "Despite all the good he's done for this country, I will never be able to forgive him."
The debate over Biden's health and his re-election decision will likely continue in the coming months.
- The US presidential election of 2024 is causing controversy due to concerns about Joe Biden's health and mental fitness, as revealed in the book "Original Sin."
- According to the book, Biden's health concerns aren't new, with instances of brain fog, confusion, and memory lapses being reported as early as 2020.
- In addition to his mental health, Biden's physical health has also been a matter of discussion, with some questioning his ability to handle a national emergency.
- The book delves into the political dynamics surrounding Biden's health, reporting that his advisors, often referred to as the "Politburo," have been accused of covering up his decline and continuing to support his re-election bid, sparking debate both within the Democratic Party and among the general public.
