Damning Reports Detail How White House Staffers Conceal Biden’s Decline

President Joe Biden speaks with the press before boarding Air Force One prior to departure from Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, July 5, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (TND) — Two damning reports surfaced this weekend detailing how White House staffers conceal President Joe Biden’s mental decline as they scramble to fight scrutiny over the 81-year-old’s capability to serve a second term.

Biden sat for a high-stakes interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Friday, July 5 in an attempt to reverse rapidly deteriorating public sentiment among Americans following his debate with former President Donald Trump. The president spoke in rambling fragments and a hoarse tone in both appearances.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that White House aides have worked to shield Biden from speaking without a script at public events. Biden reportedly used teleprompters to guide his remarks at almost all his recent public engagements, even small private ones.

Members of the Biden administration and Democratic National Committee reportedly admitted to the publication the president now appears slower and has more frequent mental lapses during meetings. A former White House official told the outlet they raised concerns over Biden’s age, but acknowledged such conversations are a “no-go zone” in the White House.

A similar report from Axios detailed how Biden’s aides prepare documents to give the president detailed directions for walking to the podium at a speaking engagement. Biden’s staffers reportedly treat even private events “like it was a NATO summit,” a staffer told the publication.

One such document obtained by the publication shows images of a speaking venue with large text reading “view from podium” and “view from audience.” Another sequence of images guided Biden through the process of getting on stage, reading “walk to podium.”

It surprised me that a seasoned political pro like the president would need detailed verbal and visual instructions on how to enter and exit a room,” a staffer told the publication.

The documents, a White House spokesperson said, are part of “advance work.” This process is used to add precision to any presidential speaking event and is standard procedure for any president.

The reports follow Biden’s recent unscripted gaffe, during which he characterized himself as a “Black woman” on a Philadelphia-based radio station.

“By the way I’m proud to be, as I said the first vice president, the first Black woman served with a Black president,” Biden said. “Proud of the first Black woman, the Supreme Court. There’s just so much that we can do because together we, there’s nothing. Look, this is the United States, America.”