Current Events > White House aides noticed Biden's 'decline' during first months of term.

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Concerns within the White House over President Joe Biden's physical and mental fitness began early in his term in the Oval Office, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Biden, 82, faced accusations throughout this year of being unfit to continue serving in the White House. The scrutiny peaked following his performance in a June presidential debate with President-elect Donald Trump, during which Biden appeared forgetful and confused while speaking in rambling fragments.
Biden and members of his administration repeatedly rejected suggestions he could not continue running for reelection, despite some of the suggestions coming from other Democrats. However, the president in July ultimately abandoned his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who later lost the presidential election.

"The protective culture inside the White House was intensified because Biden started his presidency at the height of the Covid pandemic," the publication wrote. "But the shell constructed for the pandemic was never fully taken down, and his advanced age hardened it."
Once concerns arose early on, Biden advisers instructed top lawmakers and allies to keep exchanges with the president "short and focused," according to the Wall Street Journal. Staffers reportedly also ensured most of Biden's meetings were held later in the day due to the president not being "at his best" first thing in the morning, with the option to scrap meetings entirely if he was having an "off day."

The guidelines for interactions with Biden even impacted Cabinet members, according to the Wall Street Journal. Biden has reportedly held just nine full Cabinet meetings throughout his term, compared to former President Barack Obama holding 19 during his first term and Trump convening 25 during his.
At least one Cabinet member stopped asking for calls with Biden "because it was clear that such requests wouldnt be welcome," a source told the Wall Street Journal. Cabinet members with particularly infrequent access to Biden reportedly included Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Donors also noticed how staffers worked to mask signs of Biden's "decline," the Wall Street Journal reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The National News Desk (TNND). White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates denied to the Wall Street Journal claims that Biden "declined" and argued it is up to senior White House staff to hold regular high-level meetings.
Biden "earned the most accomplished record of any modern commander in chief and rebuilt the middle class because of his attention to policy details that impact millions of lives," Bates said.
Harris during her brief presidential campaign fielded accusations of covering up Biden's mental fitness. During an August interview with CNN, Harris told anchor Dana Bash she had no "regrets" about what she told Americans about the president's ability to serve.
"I have served with President Biden for almost four years now, and I'll tell you it's one of the greatest honors of my career. Truly," Harris said at the time. "He cares so deeply about the American people, he is so smart and loyal to the American people."

Every sane person noticed it when he was running in 2020

And he still managed to be an objectively better president than any Republican in living memory.

And he still managed to be an objectively better president than any Republican in living memory.

That's true but it means nothing because most of his achievements will be deleted within like 3 weeks since he botched the 2024 race so unfathomably bad. It's like saying RBG was a great SC justice. Sure, shame her refusal to retire doomed her entire legacy for a generation.

Every sane person noticed it when he was running in 2020

And he still managed to be an objectively better president than any Republican in living memory.

Every sane person noticed it when he was running in 2020

Every sane person noticed it when he was running in 2020

Nah, the media and his supporters just did a great job of gaslighting people into believing otherwise. Not just on mainstream media but this very board even.

Only when it was officially admittedly did people suddenly 180 and suddenly it was obvious all along.

He should have never tried to get reelected. Kamala or someone else might have had a better chance if they had a full campaign time limit to work with

Nah, the media and his supporters just did a great job of gaslighting people into believing otherwise. Not just on mainstream media but this very board even.

Only when it was officially admittedly did people suddenly 180 and suddenly it was obvious all along.

Every old person declines. Biden being senile wasnt the determining factor in people voting for the other significantly more mentally damaged person. Politics has become a team sport. Love of country is no more.

When Trump was considerably worse almost literally every time he made a public apperance.

Every sane person noticed it when he was running in 2020

Yeah it kinda bugs me the way people talk about "Biden's mental decline" When Trump was considerably worse almost literally every time he made a public apperance.

And I get that there is whataboutism to that, but the way the media exaggerated Biden's decline while passionately, furiously, defending or flat out ignoring Trump being insane was pretty infuriating.

Biden's debate performance wasn't even as bad as Trump's performance with Harris, or his many apperances before and after it. It's just that you wouldn't know that unless you watched both of them in full because no mainstream media outlet told you.

Nah, the media and his supporters just did a great job of gaslighting people into believing otherwise. Not just on mainstream media but this very board even.

Only when it was officially admittedly did people suddenly 180 and suddenly it was obvious all along.

Using your same logic, there's no point in bothering to do anything good at all. Because maybe, just maybe in some far off non confirmed date it might get reverse. Like this is one of the major problems we have on our side. This purist logic that unless everything is perfect and pure..... it's just bad.

Nah, the media and his supporters just did a great job of gaslighting people into believing otherwise. Not just on mainstream media but this very board even.

Only when it was officially admittedly did people suddenly 180 and suddenly it was obvious all along.

Yeah it kinda bugs me the way people talk about "Biden's mental decline" When Trump was considerably worse almost literally every time he made a public apperance.

And I get that there is whataboutism to that, but the way the media exaggerated Biden's decline while passionately, furiously, defending or flat out ignoring Trump being insane was pretty infuriating.

Biden's debate performance wasn't even as bad as Trump's performance with Harris, or his many apperances before and after it. It's just that you wouldn't know that unless you watched both of them in full because no mainstream media outlet told you.

A person also on the verge of falling to pieces that seemed to be the choice mostly picked to not rock the boat so badly that it had its own negative effect? The democract party was so afraid of offending the right that it backfired on them.

I mean if Biden left a better impression then Trump would not have won. Yes, the masses are deluded fools who can't see reality in the face but the fact that Biden failed to make pepole think Trump coming back would be horrible is...horrible.

"It's Biden's fault that 70 million Americans voted for the rapist screaming incoherently about cutting off childrens dicks in schools, black people eating dogs and illegal transgender experiments in prison"

This logic doesn't track when it was Biden himself that doomed us and not someone else

Biden's debate performance wasn't even as bad as Trump's performance with Harris, or his many apperances before and after it. It's just that you wouldn't know that unless you watched both of them in full because no mainstream media outlet told you.

And he still managed to be an objectively better president than any Republican in living memory.

A portion of our side simply cannot grasp elections have consequences regardless if you like the binary choices.

Yeah, it's crazy Biden ran a reelection campaign and had to have it clawed away from him after internal polls showed him losing New Jersey leaving Harris with the herculean task of running a perfect campaign in like 120 days. I guess he didn't think elections had consequences considering he thought it'd be a good idea to run another one.

Whether he decided to run again or not has nothing to do with the fact that regardless if he did, it doesnt magically change.... if a left leaning individual decided to stay home or vote 3rd party.... it helped Trump in key states.

Regardless if you are madly in love with whoever ended up being the Democrat Primary winner..... either a Democrat or Trump was going to win. And just like in 2016, elections have consequences regardless if the Democrat primary winner isnt your ideal pure pick.

There is no "foremost" as there's plenty of blame to go around. Including the peft leaning non voters and 3rd party voters.

Yep, the article tracks. It was clear that he was unfit when he ran in 2020, but once again we got the same feral ITS HIS TURN! centrist/republican-lite dems from 2016 force out the more capable candidates in favor of their guy despite them being the most unqualified candidate imaginable.