December 19, 2024

"Presidential staff formed a tight shell around Biden, 82, right after he took office amid the COVID-19 pandemic...."

"By spring 2021, meetings were being rescheduled to accommodate for his 'good days and bad days.'.... Once inside the room with the president, officials were instructed to make their briefings short and to the point. Private discussions with even some of his top cabinet picks... grew more infrequent.... [S]taffers removed negative reports from Biden’s stack of news for the day, misleading him about the public’s opinion of his job performance...."

From "White House aides hid Biden’s apparent mental decline from Day 1 of his presidency, explosive report reveals" (NY Post).

122 comments:

Joe said...

Bubble boy?

Dave Begley said...

Living in a liberal bubble. Sounds like Louis XIV right before the French Revolution. "Problems? What problems? My people don't love me?"

MadisonMan said...

It's always a mistake for an Executive to be surrounded by only Yes-Men (and Yes-Women)

Quaestor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quaestor said...

So who is running things? It's certainly not Kamala Harris. It must be Jill Biden, our first woman president.
12/19/24, 3:28 PM

Readering said...

Until historians start publishing that honor still held by Edith Wilson after his stroke.

Paul said...

So can someone sue Biden claiming he has been of UNSOUND mind for years and thus all of his PARDONS are invalid. See if SCOTUS would take the case!! Maybe Trump could push that kind of suit.

Jerry said...

Yeah, for 4 years he was 'sharp as a tack' - that'd been hammered into an oak floor, pulled out, dropped into a vat of acid, taken out, hammered flat on an anvil, then used to attach carpet in a beach house about to be destroyed in a hurricane.

Maintain the narrative at all cost, no matter what's actually going on.

Breezy said...

Why is this coming out now?

Sebastian said...

"By spring 2021"! Anyway, if Biden has no clue, and cannot tell whom he pardoned and why, and the government is in fact run by a coterie of flunkies, are pardons given by such a dementia patient valid?

Quaestor said...

This situation ought to be criminal. Various sorts of fraud are matters of criminal law in every state. Securities fraud is a federal crime, so is mail fraud. Hiding dementia or insanity from the voters is evidently perfectly legal, even though much more damage to our society, even civilization itself, could be inflicted by a presidency so corrupted by deceit and lies as is this one, than could ever be caused by mail fraud.

This calls for a test case -- a class action lawsuit against someone, an individual who obviously lied and through his lies ruined the Democratic Party for a generation and has endangered the world. Let's see just how far the First Amendment extends: The People versus Joe Scarborough.

rhhardin said...

It was always a committee presidency.

Maynard said...

Anyone with an average IQ and a tad of curiosity understood that Biden had cognitive problems when he ran in 2020. Hence, the famous "basement campaign".

What I do not understand is why this is only now considered acceptable mainstream news.

Ambrose said...

And the same people leaking to reporters now would have happily carried on the charade for 4 more years if they could have gotten away with it.

Butkus51 said...

most votes ever

Shouting Thomas said...

So, who devised the lawfare strategy to try to bankruptcy and imprison Trump?

Left Bank of the Charles said...

“officials were instructed to make their briefings short and to the point”

That is the idea of a briefing.

Kevin said...

Joe Scarborough hardest hit.

Aggie said...

This is what it looks like when the media tries to redeem itself and build credibility in a completely artificial way. It costs them nothing to admit this now, even though they've known it for 5 years. They're hoping nobody will think of that; It might buy them enough street cred to make people listen to their upcoming continuous 4 years of criticism that is on the way now.

There is not a single news story, especially about politics, that does not serve a purpose.

Original Mike said...

Andrew Weissman, Mary McCord, …

Original Mike said...

Because it doesn't matter anymore.

Dude1394 said...

Every single one of the democrat media, democrats and people saying he was sharp as a tack were lying. And they were a danger to this country that we may/may not come out of.

Quaestor said...

@ Readering, I left Edith Wilson off the list of female Presidents of the United States because historians are still divided as to what presidential duties or prerogatives she actually performed and the degree of Woodrow Wilson's disability. Some claim Wilson was gravely affected intellectually and psychologically, other's say he was affected in his speech and his ability to write only, that his understanding and reasoning was intact. Perhaps she signed her husband's signature on documents at the President's request, or perhaps he was completely non compos mentis and her actions were illegal -- we can't know the complete truth, every witness is dead.

Mr Wibble said...

A mixture of CYA and revenge. Journalists are trying the modified limited hangout of "Oh, we should have pressed harder and asked more questions about his health" in order to pretend that they weren't actively covering it up, while a lot of Biden staffers are going to try and shift blame away, especially as any information comes out about how decisions were being made in the West Wing.

Dude1394 said...

"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."

Still gaslighting.

Original Mike said...

You think you're clever? We just had 4 years of a dementia patient as President and you think it's a joke.

RideSpaceMountain said...

How many idiots does it take to screw in Joe's lightbulb? A committee of idiots...

n.n said...

Progressive cognition with a Democratic consensus lurking in the deep muck of the swamp with a joyous aside.

He's an old man. He knows not what he does. Is a Seinfeld episode, which is a comedian's guide to the Earth.

Breezy said...

So, who is signing the pardons? Who decided to seek the border parts? Who is talking with Netanyahu? What is KJP gonna say about all of this?

Quaestor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BarrySanders20 said...

And they would have if it wasn't for those meddling kids (who voted for Trump in margins more bigly than expected).

RideSpaceMountain said...

“It's Easier to Fool People Than It Is to Convince Them That They Have Been Fooled.” – Mark Twain

Quaestor said...

Left Bank obfuscates, "That is the idea of a briefing."

Then why is a briefcase larger than a Post-it notepad?

No one is deceived into thinking you'd be that generous with definitions if Donald Trump was the subject of that report.

Breezy said...

I think it’s a sign of an ongoing epic battle within the older Dem ranks. Its erupting out in the open.

Breezy said...

…sell the border parts…

tim maguire said...

So who was running the country? Enquiring minds want to know.

Mason G said...

FJB timeline:
- Joe is sharp as a tack.
- "Dementia" claims are misinformation.
- The president has good days and bad days. <- You are here.
- Joe's had dementia since he was elected, everybody knows that.
- What difference, at this point, does it make, anyway?

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Answers:

1. Joe's signing the pardons. They tell him to sign and he signs.
2. Some WH staffer thought it would be a good "fuck you" to the Trump Admin.
3. Most likely Blinken does most of the talking and Joe only does it if it's unavoidable, and the there's a lot of prep.
4. KJP will probably scream "Racism!" if she asked about any of this.

Levi Starks said...

OMG…

RideSpaceMountain said...

Langley and the Pentagon. Not a joke. I'm deadly serious.

Charlie Currie said...

I never believed for a minute that Biden was in charge. The country was being run by the people behind the scenes - starting with Jill Biden, but, I don't believe she was making policy decisions. Those were being made by Obama through his people in the administration and those with strong ties to it. Jill was the orchestra conductor. So, I laid blame on the Biden administration, not Joe Biden.

These are sick people using, and abusing, I would say, a sick old man to get what they wanted. To weaken the United States and enrich themselves.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Briefing instructions for Joe Biden:

- Don't use big words
- Bring carpet squares for nappy time
- Hold Joe's hand at all times, he wanders...
- Get to the point: blame Trump for everything
- Keep it short: elevator pitch be damned, you've got 10 seconds
- If he begins whispering at you, you're done
- Even if Joe dealt it, he who smells it first cleans it up
- When in doubt, just give it to Dr. Jill

Mason G said...

A "sick old man" who has physical ailments, too.

Mikey NTH said...

And between Joe and Kamala Joe was the more competent of the two.

Mikey NTH said...
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Tank said...

If I recall correctly, wasn't Althouse concerned that Biden might freak out (fall apart) during the 2015 debates? We all knew then.

damikesc said...

That kinda makes the whole "Trump only has Yes Men in his administration". Yeah, they support him --- but are they to the level of Biden's enablers? I do not see it.

Jupiter said...

Would you really like to try to make the argument that we would be better off if only Joe Biden had been capable of vigorously pursuing his objectives?

Lucille Ballers said...

Lowest avg unemployment rates in 50 years, a record 20 million new business applications, expanded overtime guarantees for millions, widespread declines of violent crimes, lowered prescription drug prices saving taxpayers billions of dollars, household wealth is a record highs but tell me more about his weak administration.

Jupiter said...

Because whoever gives the orders that "mainstream news" organizations follow in robotic lockstep now wants them to publish this. Obviously.

Prof. M. Drout said...

For those with eyes to see, this has been obvious since the autumn of 2020 and glaringly obvious since 2021. And yet I was being told by supposedly intelligent people that Biden's mumbling was a "stutter" and his falling up stairs on a regular basis, wandering around aimlessly, and talking to dead people was "Fox New" or "cheapfakes" or "misinformation."
It was also obvious that the bureaucracy was running the country: the "pandemonium" decision-making process and the policy mix that was exactly the same as the last time the bureaucracy was running the country, during the Ford and Carter presidencies.
Even someone as stupid as Joe Biden has always been wouldn't deliberately choose the late-1970s policy mix that we've had. That should have been the second clue (after his obvious decrepitude and senility) that the bureaucrats were running things.

Aggie said...

The Wall Street Journal has been working on this.


Shouting Thomas said...

There is no longer any doubt that Trump won in 2020, that the election was rigged.

Original Mike said...

"I think it’s a sign of an ongoing epic battle within the older Dem ranks. Its erupting out in the open."

They always do this. Once a scam has outlived its usefulness, they come clean in an attempt to salvage their credibility.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Lol. Figures do lie, and liars still figure.

Readering said...

Funny claim when GOP utterly failed in four years to come up with evidence admissible in a court of law. The evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election overwhelms in comparison. Will soon join the Southern myth of the lost cause in the pantheon of American legends.

Lawnerd said...

Do forget about all the cheapfake bullshit the media trotted out.

Narayanan said...

start with EO's, bills signed then other stuff

BUMBLE BEE said...

Democracy died in the New York Times.

narciso said...

The most obvious finding evarr

Quaestor said...

Easily manipulated statistics are among the fruits of the poison tree, Lucille Ballers.

damikesc said...

He basically admitted it, repeatedly. "They won't let me do this" or "they will get mad" type comments during public appearances. They weren't jokes. They were reality.

Wa St Blogger said...

One thing I don't understand. It is clear that the Dems will lie about a person's mental state to retain power. Will use bogus laws, make up crimes, use selective prosecution, and suborn witnesses in effort to retain power. They will demonize people in effort to radicalize homicidal crazies, enlist the support of the federal agencies, use FISA warrants on known fabricated testimony to spy, and lie about crimes they know occurred to retain power. But, BUT! They would NEVER use election fraud. That is just crazy talk.

Everything about Bided was a fraud from his ability to run, to his relationships with Ukraine, to his ability to operate as POTUS, to his involvement with Hunter's crimes, to his very election. The democrats have proven that there is nothing they would not do to hold power. The motto is "It worked, didn't it?"

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I'm with Breezy. The election and Botox Nancy's recent medical issues have emboldened some of the younger Democrats thinking they can stage a coup.

Doug said...

Assuming the WSJ reporting is correct, another scary thing is President Biden was being followed around by the officer with the nuclear "football" when he was not competent to handle the responsibility. The Democrats endangered the country with what I think is the biggest political lie of the current century. Who is it that is defending democracy again?

Paul said...

Or charge one of the staff with criminal conduct and at such trials NDAs are invalid. Force them to talk!

Shouting Thomas said...

It’s quite obvious. You’re simply lying about the Russia collusion hoax. I’d like to be generous and say otherwise, but that’s just base assed lying. Why are you doing that.

gilbar said...

the peasants are REVOLTING!!
they SURE ARE!

damikesc said...

Well, if the world was utter bullshit, your post would make sense. But it is not. I have seldom seen as many inaccuracies as I see here.

gilbar said...

how many jobs "created" were just Covid rehires?
how many jobs "created" were Government jobs?
how many jobs "created" were NEVER THERE AT ALL?

gilbar said...

when they started having Joe get out of the lower deck of Air Force One,
Anyone that still pretended that Joe could walk was LYING (at least to themselves)

gilbar said...

here''s what I've been wondering..
The President "shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses
against the United States.."

HOW does that give him the ability for BLANKET pardons without naming Offenses?
The fact that Ford did it, and noone said anything doesn't change the fact that the Constitution REQUIRES "Offenses against the United States.."

NO OFFENSE? NO PARDON.. Prove me wrong

Jerry said...

The administration was run by lots of people with 'great ideas' - who didn't have a bit of concern about the results. "Hey, let's bugger the economy by printing all the money! Let's leave Afghanistan on an expedited schedule! Who needs all the extra stuff there? Let's make sure Ukraine gets all sorts of money from FEMA - what could possibly go wrong?"

They never think about 'What's the worst that could happen?" or "What if something doesn't go as we expect?"

It's like they always got trophies for participation... no matter how badly they did.

Mason G said...

"Figures do lie, and liars still figure."

Lots of those figures were revised down after the "bestest ever" announcements were made.

how many jobs "created" were Government jobs?
how many jobs "created" were NEVER THERE AT ALL?


How many (or few) government jobs involve something other than paying people to stay at home and do the laundry or "community organization" for the Democrats?

The Godfather said...

I assume that if Trump grants a bunch of pardons at the end of his 2d term, there will be people who will challenge those pardons on grounds of Presidential incompetence. So Trump supporters ought to challenge Biden's pardons to establish a precedent. Start with Hunter.

RideSpaceMountain said...

The Gray Lady is a presstitute.

mezzrow said...

Once more, we discover that our eyes were not lying and our intuition was correct.

All to protect the nation from the return of the apparition that now awaits his inauguration. All those Zuckbucks, all that censorship, and now we find out we were right all along about what they bought.

Why did it work so well? What percentage was ideology and what was just grift? I understand the Dem bundlers are livid.

typingtalker said...

So ... the Democrats didn't think that Kamala Harris was good enough to take over from a failing President Joe Biden ... but ... the Democrats thought that she was good enough to beat Donald Trump and therefore good enough to take over as president of the United States of America.

Jim at said...

Lowest avg unemployment rates in 50 years, a record 20 million new business applications, expanded overtime guarantees for millions, widespread declines of violent crimes, lowered prescription drug prices saving taxpayers billions of dollars, household wealth is a record highs but tell me more about his weak administration.

If everything's so great, why did you lose? Maybe because the average, American voter sees through your lying bullshit?

JIM said...

Are you not amused?
I wonder -
were there competing factions inside the West Wing?
didn't the Cabinet members have a responsibility to inform Congress, the Supreme Court, and the American People?

Jim at said...

The evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election overwhelms in comparison.

And that's why nobody should ever take you seriously.

RCOCEAN II said...

How many press conferences and interviews did biden have in 3.5 years? How many where he didn't get pre-screened questions and reporters that didnt "tee it up" for him? How many fox news interviews or with tough objective reporters?

Anyway, now that's its "safe", its nice the NYP/WSJ are now telling us the truth. Of course, this isn't due to any investigating reporting, its people in the WH telling their side of the story. Now, that it doesn't matter.

Mary Beth said...

The WSJ article: "How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge". Are the pardons or anything else he signs valid if he has diminished capacity? Biden saying he wouldn't pardon Hunter could be evidence that he had no intention of doing it when he was thinking more clearly than he is now.

RCOCEAN II said...

When I read books about the WH Press Corps covering up for FDR when he was dying of Heart Disease and got him elected to a 4th term, I thought that could never happen again. And here we are in 2024 with the same thing. What if Biden had done OK in the 1st Debate? what if Trump hadn't moved his head 1 MM in Ohio?

RCOCEAN II said...

What really sad, is the Democrats and Liberal/left don't really care.

Koot Katmandu said...

Explosive LMAO. Like we did not know?

Jaq said...

This is why it's funny to me that people think that the press can be trusted on anything at all whatsoever.

Readering said...

Given that there is zero evidence of a rigged election 2020 and non-zero evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election. you guys are innumerate.

Narayanan said...

are there enough days left to send FJB off with his very own impeachment? and stop the pardonalooza

gilbar said...

well, an office holder doesn't have to still be IN office to face impeachment..
BUT; since it takes 2/3rds of the Senate to convict; WHAT would be the point?

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

The press must've known. If they didn't know, they are the most incompetent crop ever to set foot there.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Thread!

James K said...

As Readering knows well, the evidence was never even examined by the courts. The cases were dismissed on technicalities like "standing."

pious agnostic said...

Once again, right people were right, and left people were lying.

pious agnostic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
pious agnostic said...

Because the incurious room-temperature-IQ Democrat voters need to hear it from a source they trust.

Mason G said...

"If they didn't know, they are the most incompetent crop ever to set foot there."

They could have known and still be the most incompetent crop ever.

Just sayin'.

Gospace said...

Trump could issue an EO on Day 1 withdrawing all EOs signed by Biden. Without saying anything else. But adding that Biden was non-compos mentis when he signed them would certainly give courts pause when they try to apply the constitutional rule that any president not named Donald Trump can can cancel any previous EO... but ones named Donald Trump can't.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

I’m just skeptical of the examples being offered. Here’s another one:

“One cabinet official eventually stopped reaching out to schedule talks with the commander in chief after having been repeatedly rebuffed, an ex-aide revealed.”

This would presumably be an ex-aide to the cabinet official, not to President Biden. We all have had the coworker who is constantly trying to schedule meetings with the boss, instead of just doing their job. And all we know about this aide is that they weren’t able to schedule meetings for their boss with President Biden - that’s not direct knowledge of his mental acuity.

Mikey NTH said...

That there was no center in the Biden administration and that every faction was doing it's own thing has long been my theory.

Shouting Thomas said...

@Readering, you have the strange skill we’ve seen so often in the past few years of telling a half dozen lies, of both omission and commission, in a single sentence. Your assumptions are lies. Your conclusion are lies. Once again, why in the hell are you doing this? It’s a preposterous, but now common tactic. I once thought it was the result of stupidity, but it seems to be indicative of sheer evil.

MacMacConnell said...

So another fake right-wing conspiracy pans out.

rehajm said...

It took a well above average CV to continue to claim he was ‘fine’ and mock those stating the obvious…

tommyesq said...

They are prepping the field for the denial of angry, vengeful Joe's (or more likely Dr. Jill's) coming revelation of highly negative stuff.

Narayanan said...

But adding that Biden was non-compos mentis
========
hah > FJB can then sue Trump in DE for DE-famation!! [making FJB famous in DE]

tommyesq said...

If Joe signed a will under those conditions, it would likely not be upheld due to his lack of mental competence, but his pardon of people he likely couldn't name or otherwise identify is just fine?

tommyesq said...

"short and to the point" is dog-whistle for "don't try to engage in any actual conversation, lest you discover he is completely incapable of such."

Narayanan said...

WHAT would be the point?
=================
how else to get FJB ass-tericksed like they did to Trump

Narayanan said...

here is one ...
AP’s Josh Boak scored an extremely rare one-on-one interview with President Joe Biden that yielded a half-hour conversation on topics ranging from the nation’s economic woes to its damaged psyche.

tommyesq said...

GOP utterly failed in four years to come up with evidence admissible in a court of law. The evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election overwhelms in comparison.

Remind me what court looked at (much less confirmed) any evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election, and on whose behalf was the alleged interference made?

Original Mike said...

"non-zero evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election"

Those Jesus arm wrestling Satan Facebook ads were a game changer.

Joe Bar said...

As Glenn Reynolds said, "The cabal that placed Joe Biden in the white house must be punished."
This administration (I refuse to believe that Biden had anything to do with any decision) has pardoned over 8000 people. In that group are Chinese spies and pedophiles. Who the hell asked for this?

walter said...

"Start your tape right now because I’m about to tell you the truth,” Scarborough continued. “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" Damning with faint praise?

walter said...

"Pedo Pete".

Readering said...

Hope GOP does that. Focus on taking that unsurmoutable hill for as long as possible.

BertBaker said...

Hoping the next thing that comes out is the drug cocktail he was fed prior to giving the occasional longer speech. I’m genuinely curious.

Readering said...

It's a myth that the election cases were dismissed on technicalities. The Russian interference was established in multiple investigations. The invincible ignorance displayed here over the years a sight to behold.

michaele said...

During the late 80's my mother was a huge fine of a British tv series called 'Yes, Prime Minister'. I feel like I need to watch it because, unbeknownst to the world, it was a foretelling of the Biden presidency.

Quayle said...

Yes Minister, and Yes Prime Minister are both (a) genius and (b) testaments to the fact that nothing in new in politics.

JAORE said...

My now deceased neighbor was a hard left Democrat. Before the 2016 election I asked if he was seeing signs of dementia in Biden. He said, "Sure, but I'm still voting for him." Reflecting, i believe the majority of MSM.

Enigma said...

I like Megadeth's old school take on this:

You take a mortal man
And put him in control
Watch him become a god
Watch people's heads a'roll
A'roll...

Just like the Pied Piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony of destruction

Acting like a robot
Its metal brain corrodes
You try to take its pulse
Before the head explodes
Explodes...


https://www.metalkingdom.net/lyrics-song/Megadeth-Symphony-Of-Destruction-613

walter said...

Biden does remind me of a turtle.