Members of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s staff have been trying to hide the aging commander in chief’s cognitive decline from the public for at least a year, according to a shocking new report.
There is increasing attention for Biden’s (81) ability to remain in the White House, after his disastrous performance in the debate against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in June.
Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that Biden’s inner circle, consisting of senior advisers Anita Dunn, Steve Ricchetti, Mike Donilon, Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, are acting as “gatekeepers for the president.”
Meanwhile, Biden continues to insist that only “the Lord Almighty” can convince him to drop out of the presidential race.
Biden’s behavior behind closed doors, in the Oval Office, on Air Force One and in meetings around the world is described in the same ambivalent way by those who regularly see him in action.
Questions continue to arise about Biden’s cognitive decline after his debate performance
Anita Dunn, a top Biden administration official, has been called the president’s fighter boss
Mike Donlion is the chief strategist of the Biden campaign for the 2024 election
He is often sharp and focused. But he also has times, especially later in the evening, when his thoughts seem jumbled and he wanders off mid-sentence or appears confused.
Sometimes he doesn’t understand the finer points of policy details. He sometimes forgets people’s names, stares blankly and moves slowly around the room.
According to the WSJ report, Tomasini’s work within the government “went far beyond simply assisting the president.” The article does not go into details.
The collaboration with Biden dates back to 2009, when the Boston native was deputy spokeswoman for the then-vice president.
Her current positions are senior advisor and deputy chief of staff.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates confirmed in a conversation with the Journal that both the president and Anita Dunn have “contempt” for some members of the media.
According to her official profiles, Dunn is listed as a senior advisor. A 2024 CNN Report called the University of Maryland graduate “Biden’s commander in chief.”
Dunn has been adamant since the debate that there is no possibility of Biden dropping out of the race.
Mike Donlion, another member of Biden’s inner circle since the Obama administration, is the chief strategist for the president’s re-election campaign.
Ricchetti is also a holdover from the Obama administration and is now listed as Biden’s top adviser.
Steve Ricchetti, an adviser to President Joe Biden, is one of the many holdovers from the Obama administration
Annie Tomasini, the deputy chief of staff in the Oval Office, is seen here on July 5
Anthony Bernal is considered one of the most important voices in Dr. Jill Biden’s inner circle
Bernal also harks back to the Obama era, where he served as a special assistant to Dr. Jill Biden before taking on a role as a travel organizer for the then-vice president. Since Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, Bernal has served as a senior advisor to the First Lady.
The magazine’s report cites a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in June 2022, which never took place, as an example of the group’s work.
Scholz was surprised by Biden’s absence. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared in his place.
Another example is the event in New York City in the fall of 2023, when Biden stumbled over a question about the Middle East. Aides stepped in and whispered something in his ear to help him.
At a similar event last summer, Biden took no questions and was described by attendees as “vulnerable,” at one point forgetting the word for veteran.
The White House is once again in full damage control mode after it emerged that Biden’s personal physician met with a leading neurologist and Parkinson’s specialist at the White House.
Biden’s personal physician, Kevin O’Connor, broke protocol on Monday by releasing a letter explaining why Dr. Kevin Cannard visited the White House eight times in eight months.
Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre added fuel to the fire on Monday by stating that the president had visited a neurologist three times.
Cannard is a movement disorders specialist at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland.
Later on Monday, with the consent of both Biden and Cannard, O’Connor released a letter confirming that Cannard was the neurologist who had examined the president at each of his three medical exams since taking office.
But most of Cannard’s visits to the White House were in connection with his position as a specialist in the White House Medical Department, where he spent 12 years treating patients with a variety of neurological problems in the White House, O’Connor said.
He said Cannard “has regularly conducted neurology clinics in the White House Medical Clinic in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned to support White House operations.”
“Many military personnel experience neurological problems related to their service, and Dr. Canard visits the WHMU regularly as part of his general neurology practice,” he added. “That could explain some of the visits.”
Cannard made similar visits to the White House during the Obama administration, according to visitor logs, and during the Trump administration (which did not release visitor logs), according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named.
Cannard visited Biden’s personal physician at the White House clinic once in January, several weeks before the president’s medical exam in February.
O’Connor reiterated that the physical examination findings had revealed no signs of neurological impairment.
“Other than his annual physical, President Biden has never seen a neurologist,” O’Connor wrote in his letter.
During his appearances, he also expressed support for Cannard because of his work in the White House.