White House ‘covered up’ Biden’s diminishing mental condition for years, bombshell report alleges
The White House tried to hide Joe Biden’s rapidly diminishing mental condition from the public for his entire presidency, according to a bombshell report.
His team hired a vocal coach, put other officials into roles usually occupied by the president, scrapped meetings on his “bad days” and kept him at arm’s length from his own cabinet members.
An investigation by The Wall Street Journal has exposed a years-long cover-up that also saw the administration gaslighting those who dared to claim Biden’s abilities had deteriorated since he was Barack Obama’s vice president.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Despite the efforts of “eager beaver hand-holders”, Biden’s decline became increasingly obvious, especially after Special Counsel Robert Hur last year released a report depicting a forgetful and frail then 81-year-old.
Hur decided not to charge Biden for keeping classified documents in his Delaware garage because he “would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”.
According to the WSJ, Biden would cancel national security meetings, leaving aides to explaining to attendees that the president had “bad days and good days”.
A Democratic strategist confirmed that influence over Biden had been “concentrated” by people including close advisers Bruce Reed, Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon.
Lower-level staff had long griped that this “triumvirate” – also known as the “Biden whisperers” – developed an outsized influence over America’s oldest-ever president.
As his term comes to an end, many in Washington agree it has been hard to tell who is running the country.
Examples of the White House cover-up included one from Congressman Adam Smith, chair of the House Armed Services Committee.
He could not get in touch with the president ahead of the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 to share his concerns.
When 13 US service members and 170 Afghans were killed, he was publicly critical and was reprimanded by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a close Biden ally.
Biden finally called Smith to apologise and, despite his key role in Congress, it was the only personal call he received in the president’s entire four years.