People close to Biden claim his mental state getting worse

Speculations about the mental acuity of US politicians have come to the forefront recently after Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump became the two oldest presidential candidates ever in 2020. In November, they will break this record. Trump has repeatedly urged Biden to undergo a cognitive test together. That said, Trump himself often slips up on facts or mixes up people in his speeches. The Wall Street Journal is not openly supporting either political party but it does lean Republican as it is owned by notable conservative Rupert Murdoch.

Behind closed doors, US President Joe Biden shows “signs of slipping,” alternating between bouts of energy and moments where he is hard to understand and uses notes with prompts, WSJ wrote after interviewing over 45 sources who have worked with the US leader over the past seven months.

The majority of those who mentioned the president’s worsening mental state are Republicans, however, “some Democrats said that he showed his age in several of the exchanges.”

At a meeting with congressional leaders in the White House in January to negotiate a deal on Ukraine aid, “he spoke so softly at times that some participants struggled to hear him”, according to five people familiar with the meeting. He read from notes to make obvious points, paused for extended periods and sometimes closed his eyes for so long that some in the room wondered whether he had tuned out.”

Former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that last year, during talks to lift the debt ceiling, Biden’s demeanour “seemed to shift from one day to the next” – on some days, “he had loose and spontaneous exchanges with Republicans, and on others he mumbled and appeared to rely on notes.” Two other sources had the same impression. Those who worked with Biden when he was vice-president describe him as someone “who appears slower now” and “has both good moments and bad ones.”

That said, when asked for a comment, the White House branded such remarks as politically motivated. “Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader who has a deep record of legislative accomplishment,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates. “Now, in 2024, House Republicans are making false claims as a political tactic that flatly contradict previous statements made by themselves and their colleagues,” he added.