Although there were doubts about President Biden’s mental health and ability to run for a second term, the media, top Democrats, and other leaders fiercely defended him throughout his term.
The Wall Street Journal conducted interviews with nearly 50 people, including current and past White House staffers who worked directly with the president, who said that Biden’s poor stamina became clear in his first few months in office.
One former employee remembered a national security official telling them why a meeting that was supposed to happen in the spring of 2021 was canceled.
“He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow,” he recalled the official saying.
In a statement sent to Fox News this week, the White House pushed back against the Journal’s report’s main points. They said Biden’s policy achievements are “indisputable proof” of his skills and leadership.
“President Biden speaks with members of his Cabinet daily, and with most members multiple times a week, staying in close touch with them about implementation of key laws and strengthening our national security. During every presidency, there are inevitably some in Washington who do not receive as much time with whomever the president is as they would prefer; but that never means that the president isn’t engaging thoroughly with others, as this president does,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.
Many top Democrats and members of the media ardently supported Biden against questions about his abilities during his term.
In March, when many people were wondering if the president could run for a second term, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” star Joe Scarborough spoke out strongly in support of Biden.
During the live show, he addressed those in the U.S. who were doubting the president’s health by saying, “F-you.”
“I’ve said it for years now, he’s cogent. But I undersold it when I said he was cogent, he’s far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he’s better than he’s ever been, intellectually, analytically, because he’s been around for fifty-years,” Scarborough said. “Start your tape right now because I’m about to tell you the truth. And f-you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden, intellectually, analytically, is the best Biden ever.”
“Not a close second, and I’ve known him for years, the Brzezinski’s have known him for fifty years, if it weren’t the truth, I wouldn’t say it,” Scarborough added.
Following the June debate, which ultimately resulted in the president’s withdrawal, Scarborough expressed regret over the president’s repeated missed opportunities against President-elect Donald Trump. Scarborough also dismissed a WSJ report that was published in June about the president’s abilities, which he called a “Trump hit piece.”
WATCH:
Vice President Kamala Harris supported her boss against attacks on his ability to do his job over and over again. There were two weeks before the election when Harris talked to Hallie Jackson of NBC News. Jackson asked her if she could say that she was “honest” with Americans who are worried about Biden’s age.
“Joe Biden is an extremely accomplished, experienced and capable in every way that anyone would want if they’re president,” she said during the interview.
She said the president’s debate performance in June was just a “bad night.”
Harris said in August, during her first interview as a presidential candidate, that she didn’t feel bad about what she told the American people about Biden’s health.
“I have served with President Biden for almost four years now and I‘ll tell you, it‘s one of the greatest honors of my career, truly. He cares so deeply about the American people. He is so smart and loyal to the American people. And I have spent hours upon hours with him being in the Oval Office or the situation room. He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president,” she said.
Harris joined “The View” in early January 2024 and defended Biden by accusing Republicans of pushing a narrative that the president was mentally unfit because they had “nothing to run on.”
During an interview with the New York Times in November 2023, Harris said that “Age is more than a chronological fact.” She insisted Biden was “absolutely authoritative in rooms around the globe.”
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, repeatedly ignored questions about Biden’s fitness and ability to serve as press secretary. In June 2022, she told CNN that she had trouble keeping up with the president, ignoring a question from former CNN host Don Lemon.
“Don, you’re asking me this question,” a visibly stunned Jean-Pierre exclaimed. “Oh my gosh. He’s the President of the United States.”
Jean-Pierre then laughed and said she sometimes struggles to keep up with Biden.
“That is not a question that we should be even asking,” she added. “Just look at the work he does. And look how he’s delivering for the American public.”
In October 2023, Gen. Mark Milley talked to CBS News’ “60 Minutes” and was asked about worries about Biden’s age. He told the viewers to calm down. Milley quit his job as Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2023, and Trump chose him for the job.
“How people interpret that is up to them, but I engage with him frequently and alert, sound, does his homework, reads the papers, reads all the read-ahead material. And he’s very, very engaging in issues of very serious matters of war and peace and life and death,” Milley said.
“So if the American people are worried about an individual who is, you know, someone who’s making decisions of war and peace and has access to, you know, makes the decisions of nuclear weapons and that sort of thing, I think they can rest easy,” he continued.
Fox News’ Martha McCallum asked Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a close ally of President Biden, if he had any regrets about not speaking out about Biden’s ability to serve during a recent interview on her show.
“I do not hang out with the president on the weekends. I don’t spend time with him, socializing and in person. My experience with him in the time up to that debate led me to believe that he was fully capable of competently leading our nation,” Coons said.
After Biden was chosen as vice president, Coons took over the president’s Senate seat. He had defended the president many times when he was criticized for being too old. Fox News Digital asked Cabinet officials and their departments if they thought Biden was fit to serve this week and if they still believed what they said before about his ability to do so.
Eleazar Mayorkas, the secretary of DHS, said in September that he has “full confidence in President Biden’s ability to do his job.” The DHS said on Monday that the secretary still stands by what she said.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo called Biden “one of the most accomplished presidents in American history and continues to effectively lead our country with a steady hand.”
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
