(Ken Silva, Headline USA) President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities may have been obvious to millions of Americans leading up the 2020 election, but his Democratic supporters insisted then that he was up to the task of running the country.
Up until his disastrous June 27 debate performance against Donald Trump, Biden’s declining health was still considered a conspiracy theory in many liberal circles. But on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report showing that the President’s handlers knew about his decline since before his inauguration.
Citing interviews with nearly 50 sources, the Journal reported that Biden’s staff noticed his slipping cognition “in just the first few months of his term.”
“Administration officials noticed that the president became tired if meetings went long and would make mistakes,” the newspaper reported.
The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the breaking point for Biden's campaign seems to have occurred on July 13, the same day as the Butler Trump shooting.
During a meeting, "Biden looked up and abruptly told the group he had to go to church." pic.twitter.com/LaOgtyF5Ml— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) December 19, 2024
Biden’s campaign team noticed the problem even earlier, when Jill Biden’s press secretary told a reporter that she was making more campaign stops than her husband in 2020. One of Biden’s campaign managers called Jill’s press secretary and barked at her to refrain from any comparisons between Jill and Joe.
“The more you talk her up, the more you make him look bad,” the campaign manager told Jill’s press secretary, according to the Journal.
The Journal also revealed that Biden wasn’t fully available during the disastrous September 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the leadup to the withdrawal, Biden was reportedly cancelling meetings with senior military officials.
“He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow,” a Biden official explained for the need to reschedule the meeting on Afghanistan.
As Biden’s decline worsened, his handlers became more protective of him. Not only did they prevent him from speaking to media and donors; many administration officials were denied access to him.
“The structure was also designed to prevent Biden, an undisciplined public speaker throughout his half-century political career, from making gaffes or missteps that could damage his image, create political headaches or upset the world order,” the Journal said.
“The system put Biden at an unusual remove from cabinet secretaries, the chairs of congressional committees and other high-ranking officials. It also insulated him from the scrutiny of the American public.”
According to former CBS News correspondent Mark Knoller, Biden held nine full cabinet meetings—three in 2021, two in 2022, three in 2023 and just one this year.
By comparison, Obama held 19 in his first term and Trump held 25.
The Democrat Party’s issues with the President came to a breaking point on July 13, the same day Donald Trump was nearly assassinated in Butler, Pennsylvania.
While on a call with a group of Democratic lawmakers called the New Democrat Coalition, Biden insisted he was doing fine in the polls.
“The president told participants that polling showed he was doing fine. He became angry when challenged, according to lawmakers on the call. At one point, Biden looked up and abruptly told the group he had to go to church. Some lawmakers on the call believed someone behind the camera was shutting it down,” the Journal reported.
“Biden dropped out of the race eight days later.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
