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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14588187/george-stephanopoulos-slammed-hiding-biden-mental-decline.html
George Stephanopoulos slammed for hiding Biden's mental decline as he stunningly admits it was 'heartbreaking up close'
By NIKKI SCHWAB, CHIEF CAMPAIGN CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Published: 11:35 EDT, 9 April 2025 | Updated: 13:08 EDT, 9 April 2025
View comments
Conservatives accused ABC News host George Stephanopoulos of
'gaslighting' the public after it was revealed he privately described
President Joe Biden's condition as 'heartbreaking up close.'
Stephanopoulos made the comment after interviewing the Democrat in the
wake of his disastrous debate performance in the 2024 campaign.
The remark was revealed by author Chris Whipple in his new book,
Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest
Campaign in History.
After Biden bungled the June 27 Atlanta debate against President Donald
Trump, the White House and Biden's campaign went into damage control mode.
Part of that effort included a sit-down with Stephanopoulos, a longtime
ABC News veteran and former White House aide to Democratic President
Bill Clinton.
'Stephanopoulos questioned the president gently, like a grandson,'
Whipple said of the July 5th interview, conducted in Madison, Wisconsin,
a vital swing state.
Afterward, Stephanopoulos raised eyebrows when he was caught on the
street candidly saying that he didn't believe Biden could make it
through a second term.
'I don't think he can serve four more years,' Stephanopoulos had said.
The ABC News journalist quickly apologized.
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos is getting some flack from conservatives
for telling author Chris Whipple that President Joe Biden's condition
was 'heartbreaking up close' after interviewing him on the heels of the Democrat's disastrous June debate performance+
6
View gallery
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos is getting some flack from conservatives
for telling author Chris Whipple that President Joe Biden's condition
was 'heartbreaking up close' after interviewing him on the heels of the Democrat's disastrous June debate performance
Former President Joe Biden (right) sat down with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos (left) as part of a damage control effort after his
debate against now President Donald Trump in late June went off the
rails. Biden dropped out of the race in mid-July+
6
View gallery
Former President Joe Biden (right) sat down with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos (left) as part of a damage control effort after his
debate against now President Donald Trump in late June went off the
rails. Biden dropped out of the race in mid-July
Chris Whipple's new book Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and
the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History was released Tuesday+
6
View gallery
Chris Whipple's new book Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and
the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History was released Tuesday
'Earlier today I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn't
have,' he told Puck News at the time.
But Whipple's book shows that Stephanopoulos was speaking honestly when
he made the 'four more years' quip, as he gave the author a similar
assessment.
'The media and Democrats tried gaslighting us for 4 years that
everything was fine despite what our own eyes were seeing… never let
them forget,' said the popular @LibsofTikTok X account Wednesday,
sharing the new details about Biden's 'decline' found in Whipple's book.
Other conservative X accounts echoed the sentiment.
During an appearance on CNN's Laura Coates Live Tuesday night, Whipple
argued what happened with the Biden campaign was 'even stranger than a so-called cover up.'
He said of Biden's team 'they were really lost in a kind of fog of
denial and delusion.'
'The closest advisers to Biden believed, despite all the evidence, that
Joe Biden was capable of running for reelection, of winning and of
serving another four years,' Whipple said. 'Now it was really delusional.'
He continued: 'This was different from a cover-up. It wasn't a
Watergate-style cover-up. It wasn't a grand conspiracy as Karl Rove has described it.'
The popular Libs of TikTok account on Wednesday knocked the media and
Democrats for 'gaslighting' Americans about President Joe Biden's
condition. Other conservatives chimed in and agreed with that sentiment
+
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos (left) interviewed President Joe Biden
(right) in Madison, Wisconsin on July 5, 2024, as part of a damage
control effort after Biden bungled his debate with now President Donald
Trump
+
6'It really was a case of people who should have known better, believing
that Biden could win,' the best-selling author explained.
Read More
EXCLUSIVE
The two words Trump said to Kamala in her concession call that left
aide fuming 'He's a sociopath'
article image
Biden also comes across as not realizing just how politically damaging
his debate performance was.
In its aftermath, the president was urged by his former Chief of Staff
Ron Klain to hold a meeting with the Progressive Caucus to shore up his
support with his party's left flank - a group that could break off and
support a different candidate.
Biden, Whipple wrote, 'wasn't convinced.'
'Well, I'm supposed to go to Camp David this weekend for a photoshoot
with my president,' Biden said, according to Whipple.
Klain responded: 'You need to cancel that. You need to stay in
Washington. You need to have an aggressive plan to fight and to rally
the troops.'
Biden agreed at the time.
But Whipple wrote that the president's resolve didn't stick.
'That weekend Biden and his family were at Camp David having their
pictures taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz,' Whipple said.
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