Official legislative records or announcements from the White House

WSJ Reports White House Controlled Access Amid Denials of Biden's Decline

Dec 19, 2024, 02:08 PM

The Wall Street Journal has published a detailed report revealing that White House aides managed President Biden's limitations by controlling his access, scripting public interactions, and acting as intermediaries. According to the article, the administration denied that the President had declined, but the walls around him were higher and the controls greater than typical. There were limits on who Biden spoke with, and national security meetings were sometimes canceled due to fluctuations in his condition. Some Cabinet members, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, had infrequent interactions with the President. Legislative leaders struggled to get his attention at key moments, such as before the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The report indicates that aides often repeated instructions to him at events, like where to enter or exit a stage. The President's decline was apparent since 2021, leading aides to schedule his days accordingly.