(Ken Silva, Headline USA) How bad was Joe Biden’s health decline during the final years of his presidency? According to a forthcoming book, his handlers discussed the possibility he’d need to use a wheelchair if he won another term.
“Biden’s physical deterioration — most apparent in his halting walk — had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn’t do so until after the election,” wrote CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson in their forthcoming tell-all, Original Sin.
“Given Biden’s age, [his physician Kevin O’Connor] also privately said that if he had another bad fall, a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a difficult recovery,” the authors wrote—as reported Tuesday by Axios.
According to the book, Biden’s handlers first seriously considered the wheelchair when he tripped over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy in June 2023. His handlers attributed his “halting walk” to a fractured foot he suffered in 2020, but privately they knew he was just getting old.
President Biden suffered what looks like a painful fall during a graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs today. pic.twitter.com/Y3AXsMNc7W
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) June 1, 2023
Thompson and Tapper’s book is just one of many sources about how Biden’s health steeply declined, and how the White House hid that fact from the public. Last week, the New York Times reported that Biden’s handlers decided to skip his cognitive test last year over fears it would spark concerns about his declining mental capacity.
And in December, the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report showing that the President’s handlers knew about his decline since before his inauguration.
“Administration officials noticed that the president became tired if meetings went long and would make mistakes,” the newspaper reported.
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.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
