In an explosive exposé, the Wall Street Journal has revealed how the mental decline of President Joe Biden was pronounced from the start of his term. However, cabinet members and other Democrats lied to the public about his declining levels of acuity and engagement. That effort succeeded largely with the help of an alliance with the media, which showed little interest in whether the President was actually running the government.
After President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, the solid wall of media and staff shielding his declining mental state collapsed. Even after Special Counsel Robert Hur declined criminal charges against Biden due to his diminished state, Democratic pundits and the press covered for him, claiming that he was sharp and effective. With the debate, the public was able to see what many in the media and the White House had been hiding for years.
After interviewing roughly 50 insiders, the Journal found evidence of a knowing effort to hide Biden’s mental state. For many, Biden’s refusal to leave his home for much of the 2020 campaign was evidence of the insecurity of staff about his ability to engage with reporters. It only got worse during the term as staff virtually tackled anyone trying to ask him a question. Biden was routinely shuffled off stage after reading briefly from a teleprompter.
Behind the scenes, cabinet members reportedly stopped asking for meetings with Biden after staff conveyed that such requests were not welcomed. He held far fewer cabinet meetings and was often considered “down” for any discussions. That included a period during the calamity of the Afghan withdrawal.
One official is quoted as admitting on one occasion in 2021 that Biden “has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow.” That was just after he was elected.
Yet, Biden was kept within the protective cocoon of media that did not press the issue and was infamous for ignoring scandals while asking Biden about his choice of ice cream on a given day.
Now, some media outlets are re-positioning on the issue as they prepare to resume hard questioning and investigations in the new Trump Administration . . . after a four-year hiatus.
Suddenly, everyone is shocked to learn that Biden was mentally diminished and blaming nameless staff for misleading them.
One exception this week was Chris Cillizza, who served as CNN’s editor-at-large before leaving the network in 2022. On YouTube, Cillizza stated, “As a reporter, I have a confession to make” and admitted “I should have pushed harder earlier for more information about Joe Biden’s mental and physical well-being and any signs of decline.”
Now, everyone likes a redemptive sinner and I give Cillizza credit for admitting his own failure to pursue the story despite many critics objecting for years over the lack of such inquiries.
However, Cillizza only confessed to failing to pursue the story due to a fear of being accused of “age shaming” Biden. The suggestion is that identity politics chilled journalism, not the overwhelming media support for the President and countervailing opposition to Trump.
The “age shaming” excuse is difficult to square with the failure to pursue an array of other scandals during the term from influence peddling to policy debacles.
Nevertheless, Cillizza was remarkably frank that he was only able to push on the story after leaving CNN:
“I didn’t really push on it, if I’m being honest. Now, once I left CNN and once it became a little bit more clear to me about Biden’s age, I think I did write pretty regularly and talk pretty regularly about how I wasn’t sure that this guy was up to it. And then obviously, after the June 27 debate, everybody, including me, was writing and talking about it.”
Putting Cillizza’s statement aside, there is a notable effort by some in the media to retroactively resume journalism after years of docile coverage on issues such as Biden’s incapacity.
The belated interest in the story reflects not only the limits of modern journalism but the limits of the 25th Amendment. From the outset, there was concern over Biden’s acuity and stamina within the White House. It was hidden from the public. His cabinet members like DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and others quashed claims of any diminishment with first-hand testimonials about how sharp and impressive the President was in meetings. Vice President Kamala Harris echoed those claims.
The Vice President and the cabinet are essential to the removal process under the 25th Amendment. Section 4 allows the removal of a president. One option is what I have called the “mutiny option.” It requires a vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” and notify Congress that the vice president intends to take over. If Vice President Kamala Harris could get eight Cabinet officers to go along with a letter to Congress, her status as the “Acting President” would likely be short-lived. Joe Biden would only have to declare to Congress that “no inability exists.” Biden would then resume his powers. That would then trigger a congressional fight.
In reality, the Biden term shows how they can often be part of the cover-up.
The 25th Amendment also does not define incapacity and having “good days and bad days” is unlikely to suffice. As I previously discussed, the issue of “disability” of a president was briefly raised in the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It was a delegate from Biden’s home state of Delaware who asked how they would respond to a disability, “and who is to be the judge of it?” John Dickinson’s question was left unanswered in the final version of the Constitution.
What followed were persistent controversies over succession. This issue came to a head after President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a stroke. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Congress finally addressed the issue in the 25th Amendment. The amendment addresses the orderly succession of power as well as temporary disabilities when presidents must undergo medical treatment or surgeries.
This process is even more unlikely to occur when the media has formed a protective line around a president.
The problem was never “age shaming,” it was a shameless effort to shield this president from tough questions and public exposure.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
It’s borderline treasonous that Jill and the president’s cabinet and staff not only repeatedly lied to the country but also executed the duties of the president while he was in the bed having a bad day!
What would have been the reaction if Chinese/Russian nukes had been inbound? The idea of the Chief of Staff and an intern tiptoeing into a darkened room with the nuke football and without fully waking the President, softly speaking, now Joe, just place your hand right here…. until it turns red. OK, good Joe, just go back to sleep.
And not a single MSM outfit cared enough to dig a little deeper!
Borderline treasonus? There no no graduations of treasonus. No such legal or psychological concept exists. Either treasonus or not.
Learn to think insteda of spouting juvenile nonsense.
It continues to this very day.
“… repeatedly lied to the country, (lol) … ” Surely you jest!
While there may be some crime involved, it is NOT treason. Treason is the only crime defined in the constitution – specifically to avoid the english over broad use of Treason to persecute enemies.
I think that the repeated knowing lies about Biden’s competence by those in government likely fit some existing federal crime.
But not Treason.
Though there is a issue with respect to Jill Biden. The position of First lady is not in the constitution. It is not an office of the United States, the first lady is not an employee of the US government, I do not think that she can commit and abuse of power as she does not wield formal public power.
How about sedition, especially when it comes to aiding and abetting our nation by opening our borders to terrorists?
The voters knew too and went along with it. Lots of people I know readily see signs of senility in Trump, but ignore the signs in Biden, simply because they detest Trump and like Biden. People see what they want to see unless forced to see unpleasant truths. The Biden Trump debate in June forced a lot of people to see something they didn’t want to see.
Trump has had a MOCA done recently – unless you beleive that his doctors are lying, he is not even at the beginings of cognative decline.
Biden and those arround him have been lying about his cognative state for atleast 8 years, signs of cogntive decline were present on his book interviews with his ghost author in 2017. Different forms of cognative decline proceed at different rates.
Biden appears to be suffering from Alzheimers which takes atleast a decade to get where he is now.
Even if Trump was in the Earliest stages of Alzheimers it would be 10 years before he was where Biden is now.
Vascular dementia which is caused by mini strokes in the brain procedes much more rapidly – MY father went from fully competent to dead in 3 years from vascular dementia. I could see in Biden the same things I saw in my father – except moving much slower in biden.
That is actually worse – it is much harder on those arround you. Vascular dementia also leaves physical signs because the impact of the min-strokes is sometimes physical, Further Vascular dementia is much easier to diagnose as there are observable physical changes tot he brian that can be seen with an MRI.
Trump has just managed a multi-year uphill against the odds presidential campaign while fighting more baseless but serious legal threats than any human I am aware of. During the election he was speaking – usually without a teleprompter for several hours a day. He was being interviewed – often by unfreindly press several times a week. I doubt there is a person here regardless of age that could standup to that at all, much less without showing signs of exhaustion and stress. Yet contra your claims Trump’s presentation is no different today that 40 years ago. He makes occasional gaffes – so do I, so does everyone, just his are always under a national spotlight. But there is no signs that these are increasing in frequency, or that they are changing in character. Biden was a major source of Gaffes his entire life – it is the change in character and frequency of those gaffs that are the visible symptoms of cognative decline – not the fact that he mis-speaks on occasion, all of us do.
But in the unlikely event that Trump does decline cognatively during his term – Unlike Harris, Vance is able to step in. Vance is relatively young, but at the same time is incredibly accomplished. He has pulled himself from Poverty to success at Harvard, he served honorably in the military, he is the author of an excellent best selling book. He has been successful in business, and he won a very tough senate race in a swing state in his first political effort. Whether you like or dislike Vance – Like Trump his is NOT an empty vessel like Harris – or honestly the Biden’s and most politicians. And Unlike Trump Vance rose to where he is now from the worst poverty that has existed in the US in my lifetime.
Regardless – you can convince yourself Trump is in decline – and while you do not appear to be correct cognatively, Trump is old enough he is not going to finish this term in as good a condition as he is starting it – but then I am almost 2 decades younger and I am not in as good a shape as Trump is now – and I am in pretty good shape for my age.
Regardless, whether you fear Trump’s cognative decline or hope for it – that buys you nothing.
Republicans – not just Trump, have inherited a mess. But all they have to do is nothing to see substantial improvement over the next 4 years.
Based on the economics that has won dozens of Nobels – there are not doing nothing, they are doing many of the right things to get even more improvement.
Democrats had a similar but not identical situation in 2021 – except that the nation was pregnant with success, as opposed to now where it is sliding further into decline. Regardless, Biden/Harris could have done nothing in 2021 and coasted to re-election in 2024 – even if the majority of people saw Biden’s decline. Had Biden succeeded – Harris would have been a shoe in in 2028.
Instead nearly all the trends are running against democrats. Most of the swing states will be pink soon, and then red. Many solid blue states today are going to be light blue in 2028. There will be a FEW red states that might become swing states or even light blue – but not even close to those going red. Red states – particularly FL and TX are slated to pick up 9 more representatives, and 9 more EC votes, with CA and NY losing 7 seats/votes. Even if everything else stayed the same the electoral map just gets harder and harder for democrats.
And this is ignoring demographic shifts. two decades ago we were told that as the nation move to majority minority that democrats would have permanent grip on power. But Democrats support among minorities is trending rapidly down. Republicas do not yet have a majority of hispanics, but they are closing in. In most every other minority group – Republicans have steadily doubled their support in the past 20 years.
You rant that Trump is showing signs of decline – I do not see that. But honestly I do not care. At the state level, at the federal level, Republicans have put more of their old foggies out to pasture. Trump’s appointments are young and qualified. There will likely be lots of fights and jockying for position as to who succeeds Trump, but that is good, and they all are permutations of the same winning platform – except that most of them are less controversial than Trump. Further the lefts over the top efforts to “get Trump” failed. They are highly unlikely to work on Vance or any of the rest of the GOP young guns. The GOP has nearly purged Neo-cons from the party.
Democrats have the clear distinction of being the party of War today. Worse still Democrats have embraced being the party of endless interventions in conflicts that are none of our business. Trump has wisely excluded the few remaining significant republican neocons from his administration. That is incredibly important.
Regardless, in future elections the tactics that Democrats have employed against Trump will not work – because the people have wised up to democrats lies.
The future is hard to predict. There could be another once in 100 years pandemic in the next 4 years, but that is highly unlikely.
There are lots and lots of bad things likely to happen throughout the world in the next 4 years. Japan, China, Russia and Europe are in varying stages of demographic collapse. Japan has somewhat protected its economy. But the rest have not. China is a very serious threat to world peace in the next 4 years. It will be interesting to see what happens in the Mideast. The failed policies of the Biden administration have unintentionally lead to the rise in power of Turkey and the decline in power of Iran.
Though fundimentally the power structure of the world is changing. Increasingly Europe is in control of its own destiny. Russia, the mideast, and africa are european problems – not american ones. While the western hemisphere an the pacific Rim are the primary focuses of US power and interest. With each year the US cares less and less about the mideast and europe and more and more about the western hemisphere and the pacific rim
While Trump’s troll of Trudeau was a joke, it has a large germ of Truth. Canada is not really an independent country anymore. It is an economy that is symbiotically dependant on the US. Canada right now is on the verge of a governmental collapse and a somewhat Trumpian Right is likely to seize power in days or months,. The US relationship with Mexico is not identical but similar to Canada. Mexico degenerates into a Narco state but for its ability to serve and a medium skill manufacturing center for the US. Further the left wing regimes in central and south america have failed so frequently they are pregnant for change. Argentina has had a successful and peaceful transition to one of the most libertarian governments in world history and that government is RAPIDLY rebuilding an economy that has been one of the worlds basket cases for decades of right wing and left wing regimes.
We have seen successes like this before, but most people have either forgotten them or were not alive for them.
The media has not learned anything, nor has it changed. The lead stories last night and today parrot Democrat criticisms of President-Elect Trump having Musk talk to members of Congress about the CR. These members derisively refer to Musk as President Musk. These complaints, duly reported by the MSM, are coming from people whose offices are filled daily with lobbyists demanding that they either vote a certain way or forego campaign contributions. The truth is, Musk is not welcome in the Members’ offices because all he is bringing is common sense without any promise of bags of cash. And, the media is covering for them just as it covered by Biden.
HL – with respect – who cares ? Is anyone listening to the MSM anymore ? To Democrats ? To the Left ?
While the “President Musk” trolls are complete nonsense. So What ?
Lets absurdly assume that Trump is Musk’s puppet president – a really loony claim.
Do those on the left think the majority of the country Cares ?
The current Fiscal battle in congress is a huge deal – and will likely benefit Trump no matter how it turns out.
Trump campaigned on DRASTIC cuts to the federal government.
He WON. That is what people expect. That is a major part of the mandate.
Democrats in congress are refighting the 2024 election, but nothing has happened that would change the outcome.
Trump, and his appointments – including Musk are MORE popular now than on election day.
Democrats are making it crystal clear that THEY are the problem, and that THEY would shutdown the govenrment rather than use a continuing resolution to EXPAND government spending by $100B dollars on exactly the nonsense that people VOTED to get rid of.
This is a tricky game – dangerous for both republicans and democrats. But republicans have a huge advantage they have never had before.
Democrats spent the past 2 years enormously exagerating the Cuts Trump is seeking, and people voted for him anyway.
To an extent we are seeing in the US a SMALL version of Milei in Argentina. Americans want spending cuts and beleive that the result will be a growing and prosperous economy. They are willing to endure SOME short term pain in return. They are not unfortunatly willing to endure disruption like that in Argentina, for the same time period as that in argentina, But they still WANT cuts to government, and know that in the short run that may be painful for some.
I would also suspect that Trump and Musk and the rest of his advisors KNOW that they MUST do the most painful stuff as quickly as possible.
Mid terms will arrive in 2 years and if the US is still enduring the harms and not yet the benefits of these cuts – Republicans will be slaughtered in the mid-terms. Even Reagan had bad midterms. The Trump administration KNOWS that the cuts to government MUST occur as soon as possible and be as deep as possible. This is Why Musk and Trump have decided to act against the CR NOW. Allowing $100B in new spending in the CR will amplify inflation – which is already on the rise again. Further Trump and republicans are as popular as they have ever been.
Right NOW they have huge political capital. They need to spend that NOW, so that recovery is well underway by the midterms.
While the claim that Musk is running the country is absurd. Neither I nor most voters give a schiff.
But for the fact that he can not run for President, the same people who elected Trump would gladly elect Musk.
Trying to attack Trump as a Musk puppet is idiotic. Musk is america’s Milei – on steriods, NOT hitler.
The gov’t insiders will claim that they had to hide Biden’s mental state as a matter of national security. They did it for us!
When Biden campaigned for his party’s nomination in 2020, it was already known that he had undergone two surgeries for brain aneurysms. How likely is it that his brain was NOT already damaged when he sought the nomination? Every media organization in the country should have insisted that all of his medical records be released. But since these organizations function as arms of the DNC, their silence is easily explained.
Undergone brain surgeries (it shows )… thats why the dems recruited him and his delusional ego could not say no to a place in history – worst president ever.
One other problem the Democrats faced was that, if Harris became acting president, they’d lose their tie breaking vote in the Senate. Better to leave the VP to tie breaking duties and run the government by committee, they reasoned, than give Republicans the opportunity to block judicial appointments and the like.
Wow, how surprising. To all of you out there today, this was obvious from the time he started campaigning in 2019. I have only been saying this on this column the whole 4 years. It was obvious to any adult medicine physician who had practiced and taken care of aging adults. He has dementia and had it the whole time. The basement was a convenient hiding place since he was always on camera and what do they say about film and video. “You only what see what the camera operator wants you to see”.
His gait was stiff and at times uncoordinated. Speech was halting. Videos of previous years showed a marked decline in coordination and steadiness of gait. All people had to do was pull out the old films and tape and it was clear as day.
Dementia is not an all or none change. Days are good and a person can be normal and recognize everyone and days can be awful and you can be almost non functional. As time passes the good days diminish and eventually disappear and the bad days get only more often and worse. Anti Alzheimer’s drugs may slow the progression but never stops it and that is assuming it is Alzheimer’s. There other types that are faster in decline and some associated with other illnesses such as Parkinson’s.
It was obvious to me his doctors were lying and frankly the doctors who treated him and gave the glowing reports should be dragged before medical boards and relieved of their licenses, I don’t think that falls under any federal pardon.
This is a crime against the nation. The only thing worse would be a traitor trying to destroy the nation but this comes close.
I think loss of licensure is only the minimum because they committed a fraud on the nation and likely compromised national security. I’m sure the Russians and the Chinese were getting far more accurate assessments of Biden’s status and health than any of us were.
The White House Staff, The Cabinet, the Heads of DNC were all in on it as well as Mr Obama.
They should all be dragged before a Congressional Investigating Committee and then frog marched down Pennsylvania Ave then tried and hidden away forever. St Helena comes to mind.
“I have only been saying this on this column the whole 4 years.”
About time to get a life GEB, sitting on this blog 24/7/365 exhibits a detachment from reality. Just sayin.
Anonymous9:14am
I read the blog every day at breakfast. See the title. Occasionally make a comment, then leave for hours to do other things and live my life, like physical therapy after a knee replacement, made multiple trips to Texas, Georgia, shop, walk 3 miles every day, read books 3-4 going at one times. It does not require one to sit at a computer 24-7-365 . Thats nuts, If this requires that much of your time then you have bigger problems than me. I’m retired. Plenty of time to do almost anything. I read fast and scan faster. It’s called multitasking. Done it all my life. This is frank entertainment.
At this point, is it too late for Joe to sue his doctors for malpractice?
JAFO-No not too late. Depends of the state or D.C. law
I want the “explosive expose” on the biden crime family’s grifting of America…we all know he’s been too senile from the get-go. I also want that expose on who’s been running our government the whole time.
The Wall Street Journal article would be a better bit of work if it examined why the WSJ itself was part of the coverup. WTF, WSJ?
JLM
http://www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
Prof. Turley said, “The problem was never “age shaming,” it was a shameless effort to shield this president from tough questions and public exposure.”
I disagree. The problem was that a Democrat Media protected a Democrat President, and it started in the 2020 Presidential race. Thus, it has been for decades. I recall a story from the Obama years, where some reporter failed to ask certain things, because it might embarrass Obama. I recall the Democrat Media’s biased reporting about, and thru Reagan’s time in the spotlight. And it continues, as the Democrat Media fails to investigate Democrat vote cheating across the country.
This was obvious from the get go. He was using preprinted answer cards during his basement campaign. Reporters had to submit their questions before a press conference. When his handlers had to trot him out in public, the whole event was rehearsed.
This should go down as one of the most egregious frauds in modern history. He made a Faustian bargain to become President. The radical left threw their support behind him to advance their hurtful and bizarre agenda. The media propped him up.
We have been living in a surreal world of crazy land these past four years. Now, the curtains have been drawn back a little to see the inner workings of this fraud.
This country and the whole world is a much more dangerous place since he was elected.
Absolutely. I love your statement, and having gotten away with this con job the dems. didn’t miss a beat to hit us with another one, namely Kamala for President so Obama could keep running the show to the brink of WW3.
right? Remember these articles? I even read one in Medpage Daily about how super Joe was aging. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/joe-biden-appears-to-be-a-superager-doctors-say/ar-AA1mAYY8
That effort succeeded largely…
The lying didn’t succeed, it was blatantly accepted. The fact that the MSM functioned as co-conspirators in perpetuating this lie, and every other effort to gaslight the people, should result in severe consequences. Public shaming or financial losses is not enough. Exiled for life would be a good place to start.
A firing squad would work better. Too bad that option is not available.
It is available in Iran as do beheading with machetes, and Democrats like Obama and Biden seem to hold Iran as a model nation. So it follows…..
I think we may have we reached the French Revolution’s need for something more efficient and timesaving – say something like their guillotine?
Who did not know he was addled? It was in plain view the whole time.
This “coup” by staff, family members, Cabinet members and even the Joint Chief’s of Staff to run the Federal Government the last 4 years is exactly why the condition of this country is what it is……This will be recorded by historians as the greatest sandal in American and maybe global political history! The fact it worked for 3 years before the American people caught on is a entire other story!
It really was a “coup” because of the dominance of the lying mainstream Left/Dem Media they must be stopped.
American people had long since caught on.
What could they do.
We are powerless in this situation.
Your question is the prime reason that we have the 2nd amendment.
A key point “what is a disability”? Given the current woke state of the US medical establishment, I could envision a(n attempted) takedown of a Republican president. The Left has tried everything else.
Agree it was quite the “coup” it worked because of the lying main stream Media…something has be done to shut then down.
And don’t think that those plans aren’t already in the works. Just remember what was done to the Kennedy brothers and the attempt on Reagan (and let’s not forget that pillow on the face incident with Scalia and “Epstein didn’t kill himself”) I think we are dealing with a cabal that has no basic moral core other than that which they share with those guys who flew plans into towers.
“exposé”
Only to those who gouged out their own eyes.
“. . . a redemptive sinner and I give Cillizza credit . . .”
His is *not* an act of redemption. It’s CYA, as he watches the other rats fleeing the ship.
What you failed to mention is that Kamala was probably Joe’s insurance policy sparing him from the 25th Amendment. Everyone of them knew she would be a disaster if she had taken control, and yet, ultimately, the Democrat Machine was willing to subject us to her.
Good comment!
What was not mentioned in the article is the Wall Street Journal itself was part of the conspiracy of hiding in Biden’s mental capacity. When did the Wall Street Journal interview these people and why was this work? Not done before the election or sometime during his term?
I blame the media, albeit they are biased, for not reporting what they saw but what they wanted us to see.
BS. Legacy media knew, Democrats knew, we all knew.
X is the media now.
They/Dem all knew and went along with it.
J