The White House tried to hide from the public Joe Biden’s rapidly diminishing mental condition for his entire presidency, according to a bombshell report.
Biden’s 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 him from his own Cabinet members.
An explosive investigation by The Wall Street Journal has exposed an extensive, deliberate and 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.
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 a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’
According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden could not even repeat back to his staff lines they fed him while preparing for his interview with Hur.
At the White House, Biden would also cancel important national security meetings, leaving aides to explaining to attendees that the president had ‘bad days and good days’.
A well-connected Democratic strategist confirmed to DailyMail.com that influence over Biden had been ‘concentrated by people who are not external facing,’ including his close advisors Bruce Reed, Steve Ricchetti, and Mike Donilon.
Biden’s lower-level staff have long griped that this behind-the-scenes ‘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 that it has been hard to tell who is actually in charge of running the country.
Egregious examples of the White House cover-up included one from Congressman Adam Smith, who was 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 serious concerns about the plan.
The White House worked extensively to try and hide President Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline, including placing others in roles that are oftentimes held by the president
When 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans were killed, he made critical comments publicly and was reprimanded by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a close Biden ally.
Biden finally called Smith to apologize and, despite his key role in Congress, it was the only personal call he received in the president’s entire four years.
Close aides also worried about comparisons between Biden and his wife Jill Biden, who is eight years his junior and conducted a packed schedule that only highlighted the president’s ‘plodding’ pace, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Even before his first day in the Oval Office they were concerned that Jill’s ‘energy’ was making Biden ‘look bad’.
During the 2020 campaign Biden’s team sought to play down how many events Jill was holding in Iowa, which was more than the candidate.
And staff was worried about the comparison between President Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden , who is eight years his junior and held an energetic, packed schedule that only highlighted her husband’s more mild pace
By late June this year Biden’s decline was on full display when he debated Donald Trump.
Gaffes, fumbles and blank stares from the president filled the hour-and-a-half televised event. It proved catastrophic for his campaign.
The face-off with Trump is what led the public, and even senior Democrats in Washington, to call for Biden to end his bid for reelection.
Just a month after the debate, Biden ended his White House bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who Trump defeated on November 5.
During his presidency aides would often have to repeat cues to Biden at events. He was given instruction cards with detailed pointers on where to walk, sit and look.
Biden’s team even asked Hollywood studio mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg to find a voice coach to improve his wavering and fading voice.
And when his voice did fail him, the team would help Biden by avoiding phone calls and participating in public events.
Additionally, Biden was shielded by senior advisers who were put into roles that others felt the president should occupy.
The officials who stood in included Ricchetti, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and National Economic Council head Lael Brainard.
A person who witnessed what happened with Biden in the last four years told the Journal that a small group of aides stuck close to him at all times and provided intense ‘hand holding.’
‘They body him to such a high degree,’ the source claimed.
At the same time, press aides who were tasked with compiling news clips were instructed by senior staff to leave out any negative stories about the president.
A person who witnessed what happened with Biden in the last four years told the Journal that a small group of aides stuck close to him at all times and provided intense ‘hand holding’
Biden’s debate with Donald Trump in June is what led the American public and Democratic politicians to call for him to drop his reelection bid
The protective circle around Biden was heightened because he entered the White House at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his staff took extensive steps to avoid him catching the virus.
But the strategy was also designed to prevent Biden from making gaffes or taking physical missteps, which would damage his image or create headaches for Democrats.
Biden has been an undisciplined public speaker throughout his more than 50-year political career.
He also had a childhood stutter that he often cites for the reason he would stumble over his words.
Just a month after the debate, Biden ended his White House bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who Trump defeated handily on November 5
Joe and Jill Biden walk on the South Lawn of the White House
Despite the efforts of aides Biden is leaving office with members of his own party lambasting him for being ‘selfish.’
Many believe that he was only looking out for himself by staying in the 2024 presidential race past the point of being unfit for another term.
Others are furious over his decision to pardon his son Hunter, 54, earlier this month after he was convicted of lying on a federal form to purchase a gun in 2018.
Polls showed Biden’s approval rating hitting an all-time low as he prepared to leave office.