In a shocking revelation, President Biden’s close circuit of advisors continued to propagate the narrative of his ‘commanding’ presence prior to his doomed debate against ex-President Donald Trump in June, refusing to acknowledge his apparent cognitive decline. Notwithstanding donors cautioning that Biden’s elderly facade was hampering his re-election bid, these advisors prioritized optics over truth. This information comes forward through a newly published book that sheds light on the details.
Amusingly, top bureaucrats and the National Security Council, among other higher-ups, ignored growing worries about Biden’s mental health. They were quick to paint a picture of a diligent president actively involved in briefings. Ex-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley even vouched for the president’s alertness – a blind and biased praise that seemed to overshadow reality.
Despite the circles of power singing praises, the television presented a different, and more believable, story altogether. Even the otherwise supportive Goodlander concedes that watching Biden stumble through his TV appearances was a distressing experience. That said, the sugar-coated stories surrounding Biden’s cognitive fitness did little to convince the public.
Donor circles were quite frank about their perceptions. They warned the then-81-year-old Biden not to be captured on camera walking in and out of the White House, a near-impossible task in the world where media eyes are ever-watchful. A candid comment from a donor drove the point home: Each step you take is a reminder that you’re ‘old.’
However, it seemed that the administration had been working diligently to create a protective bubble around Biden, especially after concerns about his cognitive ability began to mount due to the ‘willful’ mismanagement of sensitive documents from his Vice Presidency and Senate tenure. The president was astonishingly spared the brunt of prosecution because he was perceived as a hapless, well-intentioned old man with a faulty memory.
In a surprising turn of events, Biden took partial blame for his verbal slipups, telling Kahl: The issue isn’t that I say what I mean, it is that I don’t hold back. Yet the White House Chief of Staff was quick to refute any speculation of Biden’s mental health declining.
This internal denial of reality contrasting with the negative public perception was strikingly glaring ahead of the June 27 face-off with Trump in Atlanta. The National Security Advisor stubbornly insisted that Biden was ‘sharp’ behind the facade of the White House, a stance that found little alignment with the public sentiment.
Unsurprisingly, a sizable percentage of Americans, including registered voters, felt that Biden, now 81, was ‘too old to be effective.’ A friend of the president pausingly confessed in December of the previous year, ‘He’s visibly exhausted half the time. It’s as clear as day in his voice.’ Even medical professionals hinted at the presence of Parkinson’s symptoms.
Beyond working hours, which astonishingly sometimes spanned no more than six hours per day due to his deteriorating cognitive ability, Biden exhibited increasing signs of confusion. An evidence-based review suggested Biden’s advancing age was clearly reflecting on his ability to perform coherently at a number of public events since the summer of 2023.
Post the debate debacle, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken was still convinced that Biden was fit for the job, a claim that sounds more like a desperate attempt to keep some faith in the failing president. Blinken was presumably aware of how the 2024 race was turning out to be a litmus test for Biden’s fitness, which he shared privately with the President.
In a dramatic turn of events in July, a band of influential donors and high-powered Democrats on Capitol Hill convinced Biden to conclude his re-election campaign on July 21. This decision was followed by Biden’s support for Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor, a strategy perceived as an attempt by the administration to salvage some leftover credibility.
It is quite clear from the entire episode that not just Biden, but his entire command chain, was in a state of denial about his cognitive decline. The glaring discrepancies between the orchestrated reality within the White House and the real-world observations have only fueled more doubt about the competence of the administration.
Amidst these shifting sands of power and politics, the endorsement of Kamala Harris as Biden’s successor signifies an attribute of desperation, rather than a well-thought-out strategy for future leadership. It is an overt attempt to cloak the glaring reality of Biden’s declining competence under the veil of political succession.
The collective whitewashing of President Biden’s deteriorating mental capacity, the shocking revelation of his ‘willful’ handling of sensitive documents, and stubborn denial against the obvious signs of aging, all draw question marks on the administration’s transparency.
In conclusion, it’s clear that the administration’s continued denial and refusal to address Biden’s declining cognitive acuity signifies that these spheres of power prioritize political convenience over the truth. This entire episode has only served to erode public trust, and one is left to wonder about the future under the proposed leadership of Kamala Harris.