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from https://nypost.com/2024/12/19/us-news/white-house-aides-hid-bidens-apparent-mental-decline-from-day-1-of-his-presidency-explosive-report-reveals/

White House aides hid Biden’s apparent mental decline from Day 1 of his presidency, explosive report reveals
By Diana Glebova
Published Dec. 19, 2024, 2:17 p.m. ET
White House aides covered up President Biden’s apparent mental decline
from Day 1 of his presidency, shielding the aging commander-in-chief
from the public and even rearranging his schedule after scatterbrained performances, an explosive report revealed Thursday.

The lack of access to the nation’s oldest-ever president has been well
known in Washington — with Biden hosting the fewest large press
conferences in modern history and frequently descending into gaffes at
the podium when he appeared — but how much the White House made up for
the haziness had until now been hidden, according to the Wall Street
Journal.

Presidential staff formed a tight shell around Biden, 82, right after he
took office amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with staff immediately limiting
his in-person interactions in January 2021.

United States President Joe Biden responds to a reporter's question
after making a statement on the recent events in Syria, including the
fall of Damascus to rebels, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, December 8, 2024.
7
Biden’s meetings were rescheduled due to “bad days” in the early months of his presidency, the Wall Street Journal reported.
AFP via Getty Images
But staffers also began making adjustments to daily plans when the
president appeared tired or kept stumbling on the world stage — both figuratively and literally.

By spring 2021, meetings were being rescheduled to accommodate for his
“good days and bad days.”

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According to the Journal, a national security official told an aide at
the time: “He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so
we’re going to address this tomorrow.”

New York Post cover page for June 14, 2024
7
But staffers also began making adjustments to daily plans when the
president appeared tired or kept making mistakes on the world stage.
Meetings were often scheduled for later in the day — a fact first
disclosed after Biden’s debate flop against President-elect Donald
Trump, when staff admitted the then-Democratic nominee had difficulty functioning outside a six-hour window that closed around 4 p.m. daily.

Once inside the room with the president, officials were instructed to
make their briefings short and to the point.

The White House also hired a voice coach, Hollywood mogul and campaign co-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, to try to improve his faint, raspy tone.

Biden frequently stumbled up and down Air Force One steps, leading him
to eventually use a smaller staircase.

Other staffers removed negative reports from Biden’s stack of news for
the day, misleading him about the public’s opinion of his job
performance — which reached a 70-year low in 2024.

Deputy press secretary Andrew Bates disputed the characterization of his
boss.

“President Biden speaks with members of his cabinet daily, and with most members multiple times a week, staying close with them about
implementation of key laws and strengthening our national security,”
Bates said in a statement.

President Joe Biden falls on stage during the 2023 United States Air
Force Academy Graduation Ceremony at Falcon Stadium, Thursday, June 1,
2023, at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
7
Staffers began making adjustments to daily plans when the president
appeared tired or kept stumbling on the world stage — both figuratively
and literally.
AP
“President Biden leads a modern administration. Cabinet meetings are an important tradition, but the contemporary work environment means they
can be fewer and far between.”

But the signs had been there throughout his term in the Oval Office: He frequently relied on notecards, was spotted having large directions
printed for him, often mixed up the names of foreign dignitaries or
other facts and gaffed when he went off-script or ignored his teleprompter.

The president’s sit-down with special counsel Robert Hur over what was
later deemed his “willful” retention of classified documents also tested his mental stamina.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk across the South Lawn
of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Washington, after
returning from a trip to Pennsylvania
7
Jill Biden has often walked hand in hand with Biden, apparently trying
to prevent him from answering questions from the press.
AP
Biden was the one who reportedly pushed for the Hur interview, per the
WSJ, and staffers backed the decision in hopes of showing that Biden was
more cooperative than Trump, then his opponent in the 2024 presidential
race.

But the interview prep quickly turned into a headache. Preparation
sessions took three hours a day and Biden would forget his “lines” and fluctuate in his energy levels, according to the outlet. A transcript
posted after the grueling, two-day affair in October 2023 revealed he
forgot the year his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer.

A Bidenworld source dismissed the president’s hazy recall, telling The
Post, “Every person who has ever prepared for a legal interview has
forgotten some of the prep.”

President Joe Biden visits the Department of Labor for an event honoring
the nation's labor history and Frances Perkins, longest serving U.S
Secretary of Labor, in Washington, U.S., December 16, 2024.
7
The ring around Biden was equally tight during his brief and
unsuccessful re-election campaign, with staffers fielding questions so
much, it surprised donors about their degree of control.
REUTERS
The ring around Biden was equally tight during his brief and
unsuccessful re-election campaign, with staffers fielding questions so
much, it surprised donors about their degree of control.

Campaign staff were also concerned that first lady Jill Biden would
outshine the president, even during the 2020 primary, according to the
Journal.

“The more you talk her up, the more you make him look bad,” her press secretary at the time, Michael LaRosa, told the outlet he was instructed
by Jill’s closest confidant, White House staffer Anthony Bernal.

President Joe Biden chokes back tears while speaking about when he got
the phone call that his first wife and infant daughter were killed in a
car accident, will delivering remarks at a Christmas for All Dinner in Celebration of Unity, America, and Special Olympics in the East Room of
the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 December 2024.
7
During her husband’s term, the first lady even tried to stop him from
going it alone too long at press conferences, fearing he’d be caught flat-footed by questions as the events dragged on.
Samuel Corum/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
During her husband’s term, the first lady even tried to stop him from
going it alone too long at press conferences, fearing he’d be caught flat-footed by questions as the events dragged on.

“President Biden has earned the most accomplished record of any modern commander-in-chief and rebuilt the middle class because of his attention
to policy details that impact millions of lives, his active solicitation
of diverse opinions from outside experts, everyday Americans, members of Congress and other elected officials, his cabinet, and historians, and
because of his determination to fulfill a big-picture economic agenda
that realized major priorities Democrats have worked toward for
decades,” Bates added in a statement to The Post.

“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.”

Filed under joe biden Joe Biden drops out of presidential race 2024
12/19/24
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