45 Lawmakers Expose Biden’s Shocking Decline Behind Closed Doors: ‘He’s Not The Same’

More than 45 lawmakers and administration officials who spoke with the Wall Street Journal reported steep cognitive declines they have seen in President Joe Biden since he first took office. The admissions shook Capitol Hill on Wednesday as White House officials scrambled to line up allies to rebut the characterizations.

In private meetings, President Biden has at times lost his train of thought, relied heavily on notecards during negotiations, and on one occasion spoken so incoherently that attendees later asked one another what he was saying. At 81, President Biden is the oldest occupant of the White House and has been forced to respond aggressively to concerns by most Americans that he should not serve a second four-year term. While most of the sources who spoke with the Journal skewed Republican, the outlet also spoke with a number of Democrats who went on the record critical of Biden before receiving sternly worded calls from administration officials.

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Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY), a five-term Democratic lawmaker, spoke with the outlet about what he perceived to be President Biden’s diminishing mental acuity in their meetings. Not long after, the White House got in touch with Meeks, who called the outlet back to change his description of the interactions. “They just, you know, said that I should give you a call back,” said Rep. Meeks, referring to the White House. Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the president, defended the intervention, stating, “We thought it was important that all perspectives be represented” to correct what he said were “false and politically motivated claims.”

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), speaking with the Journal, lamented the lack of intensity from Biden during closed-door negotiations on the debt ceiling. “He would ramble,” said McCarthy, who led the Republican side of the talks. “He always had cards. He couldn’t negotiate another way.” His remembering contrasts with remarks he made at the time, saying Biden’s team “was very professional, very smart, very tough at the same time.”

Last May, when the federal government was just 11 days away from defaulting, McCarthy said Biden called him from Air Force One to discuss negotiations. “On that phone call, he was more with it than any other time,” McCarthy recalled. The next day, Biden returned to discussing parts of a deal that had already been agreed upon. “He was going back to all the old stuff that had been done for a long time,” McCarthy said. “And he was shocked when I’d say: ‘No, Mr. President. We talked about that meetings ago. We are done with that.’”

“I used to meet with him when he was vice president. I’d go to his house. He’s not the same person,” McCarthy added.

Bates, the White House spokesman, pointed to past statements by McCarthy and others who spoke with the J0urnal that he said are at odds with their current characterizations of the president. “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 Now, in 2024, House Republicans are making false claims as a political tactic that flatly contradict previous statements made by themselves and their colleagues.”

The White House added that it isn’t uncommon for the president to return to earlier parts of a deal, though failed to explain why Biden spoke in such a hushed tone and retold stories about his experiences with a DuPont company while a senator that left attendees stumped. Those present said Biden’s enunciation left them struggling to hear. Bates claimed the president was not overly reliant on notecards during the meeting.

After the meeting ended, Republicans called a colleague to update them on the talks. One topic of the conversation included concerns about Biden’s acuity.

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