Joe Biden aides debated whether he would require wheelchair if re-elected in 2024, bombshell book reveals
WASHINGTON, DC: Behind the scenes of former President Joe Biden’s final months in office, his aides were having some tense discussions — including the possibility of rolling him around in a wheelchair if he managed to secure a second term.
That’s just one of the eyebrow-raising revelations in 'Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,' a bombshell new book dropping May 20 from Axios reporter Alex Thompson and CNN’s Jake Tapper.
According to an excerpt first reported by Axios, Thompson’s home outlet, “Biden’s physical deterioration — most apparent in his halting walk — had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn’t do so until after the election.”
“Given Biden’s age, [his physician Kevin O’Connor] also privately said that if he had another bad fall, a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a difficult recovery,” the authors wrote.
Book reveals Joe Biden's 10-to-4 window
The book paints an embarrassing picture of Biden’s daily stamina, too. According to Tapper and Thompson, the president had a pretty limited window in which he could operate at full capacity.
The Delaware Democrat reportedly had a six-hour window – from 10 am to 4 pm – during which he was effective. Outside of that window, he became "fatigued" and prone to "verbal miscues."
Behind the scenes, Biden’s doctor was apparently at odds with some of the president’s staff. O’Connor often clashed with aides, pushing them to include more downtime in Biden’s schedule — something they weren’t always keen to accommodate.
But it wouldn’t be the first time a US president used a wheelchair — Franklin Delano Roosevelt did after being paralyzed by polio in 1921. However, FDR made it a mission to keep that detail on the down-low.
Rarely photographed in a wheelchair, Roosevelt worked overtime to shield his condition from the public.
Joe Biden White House always denied his alleged mental health decline
There have been questions about Biden’s age and mental sharpness for years.
From verbal slip-ups to visible stumbles and bouts of confusion, the whispers grew louder as the 2024 election drew closer. And yet, the Biden camp brushed it all off like lint on a suit.
The White House flatly denied any concealment, assuring Americans the president was in good shape. But critics weren’t buying it — especially after liberal media outlets (including Tapper himself) downplayed concerns about Biden’s physical and mental state, the New York Post reported.
Despite weak polling numbers and increasing alarm over Biden’s performance, the administration and family kept up the appearance of business as usual.
That is, until a widely panned debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, shook the Democratic Party to its core.
It followed a full-blown internal revolt that forced Biden to drop out of the race on July 21, ultimately throwing his support behind then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Team Joe Biden gets into damage control mode after book's revelations
Unsurprisingly, Team Biden is calling foul on the book’s claims.
“Yes, there were physical changes as he got older, but evidence of aging is not evidence of mental incapacity,” a Biden spokesperson shot back.
“And so far, we are still waiting for someone, anyone, to point out where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or make a presidential address where he was unable to do his job because of mental decline,” the spokesperson continued.
“In fact, the evidence points to the opposite — he was a very effective president.”
'Original Sin' hits the bookshops on May 20.
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