Members of the media, top Democrats and other leadership ran a passionate defense of President Biden throughout his term as questions swirled around the president’s ability to serve a second term, and his mental fitness prior to him eventually dropping out of the race.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Biden’s stamina issues were apparent within his first few months in office, citing interviews with nearly 50 people, including current and former White House staffers who interacted directly with the president.
One former aide recalled a national security official explaining why a meeting in the spring of 2021 was canceled altogether.
“He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow,” he recalled the official saying.
The White House pushed back on the substance of the Journal’s report in a statement provided to Fox News Digital this week, saying Biden’s policy accomplishments provide “indisputable proof” of his qualifications and leadership.
“President Biden speaks with members of his Cabinet daily, and with most members multiple times a week, staying in close touch with them about implementation of key laws and strengthening our national security. 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,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.
Top leadership and some in the media have proudly defended the president against concerns about his capabilities throughout his term.
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough offered a passionate defense of Biden in March amid many concerns over whether the president had the ability to serve a second term.
He had words for Americans who questioned the president’s fitness and said during the live broadcast, “F -you.”
“I’ve said it for years now, he’s cogent. But I undersold it when I said he was cogent, he’s far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he’s better than he’s ever been, intellectually, analytically, because he’s been around for fifty-years,” Scarborough said. “Start your tape right now because I’m about to tell you the truth. 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, and I’ve known him for years, the Brzezinski’s have known him for fifty years, if it weren’t the truth, I wouldn’t say it,” Scarborough added.
After the June debate that ultimately led to the president dropping out, Scarborough lamented that the president missed layup after layup against President-elect Donald Trump. Scarborough also dismissed a WSJ report that was published in June about the president’s abilities, which he called a “Trump hit piece.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly defended her boss against attacks on his ability to serve. Two weeks before the election, Harris sat down with NBC News’ Hallie Jackson, who asked if she could say that she was “honest” with Americans who have concerns about Biden’s age.
“Joe Biden is an extremely accomplished, experienced and capable in every way that anyone would want if they’re president,” she said during the interview.
She said the president’s debate performance in June was just a “bad night.”
During her first sit-down interview as the presidential candidate in August, Harris said she had no regrets about what she had told the American people with regard to Biden’s health.
“I have served with President Biden for almost four years now and I‘ll tell you, it‘s one of the greatest honors of my career, truly. He cares so deeply about the American people. He is so smart and loyal to the American people. And I have spent hours upon hours with him being in the Oval Office or the situation room. He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president,” she said.
Harris joined “The View” in early January 2024 and also defended Biden. She accused Republicans of pushing a narrative that the president was mentally unfit because they had “nothing to run on.”
During an interview with the New York Times in November 2023, Harris said that “Age is more than a chronological fact.” She insisted Biden was “absolutely authoritative in rooms around the globe.”
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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who repeatedly dismissed questions about Biden’s fitness and ability to serve throughout her time as press secretary, told CNN in June 2022 that she herself had a hard time keeping up with the president, dismissing a question posed by former CNN host Don Lemon.
“Don, you’re asking me this question,” a visibly stunned Jean-Pierre exclaimed. “Oh my gosh. He’s the President of the United States.”
The press secretary then laughed and said she sometimes struggles to even keep up with Biden.
“That is not a question that we should be even asking,” she added. “Just look at the work he does. And look how he’s delivering for the American public.”
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Gen. Mark Milley spoke to CBS News’ “60 Minutes” in October 2023 and encouraged Americans to rest easy when he was pressed on concerns about Biden’s age. Milley left his Joint Chiefs of Staff post in September 2023 and was nominated to the office by Trump.
“How people interpret that is up to them, but I engage with him frequently and alert, sound, does his homework, reads the papers, reads all the read-ahead material. And he’s very, very engaging in issues of very serious matters of war and peace and life and death,” Milley said.
“So if the American people are worried about an individual who is, you know, someone who’s making decisions of war and peace and has access to, you know, makes the decisions of nuclear weapons and that sort of thing, I think they can rest easy,” he continued.
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Fox News’ Martha McCallum asked Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a close ally of President Biden, if he had any regrets about not speaking out about Biden’s ability to serve during a recent interview on her show.
“I do not hang out with the president on the weekends. I don’t spend time with him, socializing and in person. My experience with him in the time up to that debate led me to believe that he was fully capable of competently leading our nation,” Coons said.
Coons, who took the president’s Senate seat after Biden was elected as vice president, had repeatedly defended the president against attacks on his age. Fox News Digital reached out to Cabinet officials and their departments, asking them if they believed Biden was fit to serve this week, and if they stood by past statements of confidence in his ability to continue.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in a statement in September, said that he has “full confidence in President Biden’s ability to carry out his job. On Monday, the DHS said that the secretary stands by those comments.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo called Biden “one of the most accomplished presidents in American history and continues to effectively lead our country with a steady hand.”
A spokesperson for her office said she stood by her comments.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fox News’ Jeffrey Clark and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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