Members of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden‘s inner circle of staff have been working for years to conceal the aging commander-in-chief’s cognitive decline from the public, according to a shocking new report.
There has been increased scrutiny over 81-year-old Biden’s ability to continue in the Oval Office in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump in June.
Now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Biden’s inner circle, consisting of senior advisers, Anita Dunn, Steve Ricchetti, Mike Donilon, Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal have been working as ‘gatekeepers for the president.’
The group uses a range of tactics, including scheduling only early meetings, not taking unvetted questions in public forums and declining high profile interviews with respected journalists.
The group’s worries are not just over Biden’s mental abilities but also physical. A mooted plan to make a cross country journey to promote an infrastructure bill was nixed over concerns regarding his physical stamina.
Questions continue to be raised over Biden’s cognitive decline in the wake of his debate performance
This incident, in which Biden fell over a sandbag at a graduation ceremony in 2023, prompted aides to change his footwear to sneakers with better grips
Those involved in the plot to conceal Biden’s flailing health are members of the first couple’s inner circle
Meanwhile, Biden continues to ‘decline’ to step aside and has resolutely insisted that only ‘the Lord Almighty’ can convince him to quit the presidential race.
Biden’s conduct behind closed doors, in the Oval Office, on Air Force One and in meetings around the world is described in the same way by those who regularly see him in action.
He is often sharp and focused. But he also has moments, particularly later in the evening, when his thoughts seem jumbled and he trails off mid-sentence or seems confused.
Sometimes he doesn’t grasp the finer points of policy details. He occasionally forgets people’s names, stares blankly and moves slowly around the room.
The new report suggests that in order to counter act instances such as those seen at the debate in which Biden trailed off during sentences and appeared to find it hard to focus, his team keeps meetings with the public to prepared remarks.
In some cases, Biden’s senior team have contacted reporters the night before scheduled events to ask what their questions might be. The WSJ that most reporters do not answer.
The team even limits Biden’s interactions with senior Democratic lawmakers. For example, Biden did not call Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer until a week after the debate debacle.
As a result of his infamous fall at the US Air Force Academy in 2023, aides moved quickly to ensure he would wear sneakers with better grip.
The article says that Biden has twice turned one of the most lucrative TV spots in the US, a halftime interview during the Super Bowl over concerns about how he would be perceived.
The Journal’s report mentions a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in June 2022 which never went ahead as an example of the group’s work.
Biden’s non-appearance surprised Scholz with Secretary of State Antony Blinken appearing in his stead as the president ‘had to go to bed.’
Matthew Miller of the state department denied that assertion. Secretary Blinken ‘never said that or anything like that,’ he told the Journal.
Those who were present at that summit described Biden as looking ‘physically worn out’ but mentally fit.
Jill Biden helped Joe Biden leave the debate stage last month
Left: Top Biden administration official Anita Dunn has been referred to as the president’s brawler-in-chief. Right: Mike Donlion is the Biden campaign’s chief strategist ahead of the 2024 election
Steve Ricchetti, counselor to President Joe Biden, is one of the many holdovers from the Obama administration
Left: Annie Tomasini, the deputy chief of staff in the Oval Office, is seen here on July 5. Right: Anthony Bernal, considered among the top voices in Dr. Jill Biden’s inner circle
According to the WSJ report, Tomasini’s work within the administration ‘goes well beyond attending to the president.’ The article does not go into specifics.
The Boston-native’s work with Biden goes back to 2009 when she served as deputy press secretary to the then-vice president.
Her current roles is listed as senior adviser and deputy chief of staff.
Speaking to the Journal, White House spokesman Andrew Bates confirmed that both the president and Anita Dunn hold ‘disdain’ for some members of the media.
According to her official profiles, Dunn is listed as a senior adviser. A 2024 CNN report called the University of Maryland graduate as ‘Biden’s brawler–in-chief.’
Dunn has been adamant since the debate that there is no possibility that Biden will drop out of the race.
Mike Donlion, another member of Biden’s inner circle going back to the Obama administration, is the chief strategist for the president’s reelection campaign.
Ricchetti is also a holdover from the Obama administration, now listed as Biden’s chief counselor.
Bernal too goes back to the Obama era, serving as special assistant to Dr. Jill Biden before moving into a role organizing travel for the then-vice president. Since Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, Bernal has worked as a senior adviser to the First Lady.
Another example comes in the form of an event in New York City in the fall of 2023 when Biden stumbled over a question about the Middle East, prompting aides to step in and help him by whispering in his ear.
At a similar event the previous summer, Biden did not take questions and was described as ‘fragile’ by attendees, at one point forgetting the word for veteran.
The White House is back firmly in damage control mode after it was revealed Biden’s personal physician met with a top neurologist and Parkinson’s specialist at the White House.
Biden’s personal doctor, Kevin O’Connor, broke protocol Monday, releasing a letter explaining why Dr. Kevin Cannard visited the White House eight times in eight months.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre adding fuel Monday by saying the president has seen a neurologist three times.
Cannard is a movement disorder specialist at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland.
Later Monday, O’Connor released a letter with the permission of both Biden and Cannard and confirmed that Cannard had been the neurologist who evaluated the president at each of his three physicals since he took office.
But most of Cannard’s visits to the White House were pursuant to his role as a specialist attached to the White House Medical Unit, treating patients for a wide array of neurological issues at the White House for a dozen years, O’Connor said.
He said Cannard ‘has held regular Neurology Clinics at the White House Medical Clinic in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned in support of White House operations.’
‘Many military personnel experience neurological issues related to their service, and Dr. Canard regularly visits the WHMU as part of this General Neurology practice,’ which may explain some of the visits,’ he added.
Cannard made similar trips to the White House during the Obama administration, according to visitor logs, and during the Trump administration – which did not publish visitor logs – according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Cannard did have one visit with Biden´s personal physician this January in the White House Residence clinic, weeks before the president´s physical in February.
O’Connor repeated that the findings of that physical that didn’t detect signs of any neurological disorder.
‘President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical,’ O’Connor said in his letter.
He also endorsed Cannard for his work at the White House during his appearances.