Biden’s Closest Aides Concealed His Declining Condition, Report Reveals

A recent report indicates that former President Joe Biden was shielded by those in his inner circle who were aware of his struggles throughout his presidency.
According to The New York Times, sources confirmed that Biden's aides noticed significant changes in him compared to just a few years earlier and took measures to protect him from scrutiny.
“The people closest to President Biden were well aware that he had changed. He talked more slowly than he had just a few years before, needed to hoist himself out of his seat in the presidential limousine and walked with a halting gait,” the report stated.
Mike Donilon, a longtime adviser, reportedly warned Biden in 2022 that his “biggest issue is the perception of age.”
However, the president, described as both resolute and defensive, chose to disregard this concern. The Times noted that he announced his re-election campaign in 2023 without first consulting his aides or even his family.
During a USA Today interview on January 5, Biden acknowledged uncertainty about his ability to serve another term in office.
“Who knows what I’m going to be when I’m 86 years old?” he remarked.
Following extensive interviews, The Times reported that aides “recognized his physical frailty to a greater degree than they have publicly acknowledged. Then they cooperated, according to interviews with more than two dozen aides, allies, lawmakers and donors, to manage his decline.”
The report detailed several ways his team adapted to these challenges. “They rearranged meetings to make sure Mr. Biden was in a better mood — a strategy one person close to him described as how aides should handle any president. At times, they delayed sharing information with him, including negative polling data, as they debated the best way to frame it. They surrounded him with aides when he walked from the White House to the waiting presidential helicopter on the South Lawn so that news cameras could not capture his awkward bearing,” it stated.
Further, the report added, “They had Mr. Biden use a teleprompter for even small fund-raisers in private homes, alarming donors, who were asked to provide questions beforehand. They came up with replacing the grand steps that presidents use to board Air Force One with a shorter set that led directly into the belly of the plane. They chastised White House correspondents for coverage of the president’s age. They hand-delivered memos to Mr. Biden describing social media posts the campaign staff had persuaded allies to write that pushed back on negative articles and polls.”
The Times identified “six key people” who worked to shield Biden from public scrutiny: First Lady Jill Biden, his son Hunter Biden, Donilon, presidential counselor Steve Ricchetti, Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, and Anthony Bernal, the first lady’s senior aide.
Biden’s presidency has been marred by controversies and personal setbacks, and he appeared to endure one last embarrassment before handing over the White House to President-elect Donald Trump.
During his farewell address last week, cameras captured him sitting on a cushion at the Resolute Desk, as reported by the New York Post.
“Photos taken from just outside the Oval Office show the 82-year-old commander-in-chief with the small cushion wedged between the presidential rump and the seat of the seemingly firm leather chair,” the outlet noted.
The oldest-serving U.S. president has frequently faced challenges with balance, stamina, and mental clarity—from stumbling on the stairs of Air Force One to verbal gaffes and bouts of coughing during speeches.
PAINFUL: Behind-the-scenes photo of Joe Biden’s Farewell Address shows him needing to sit on a pillow inside the Oval Office with an emergency box of Kleenex hidden under his desk.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 16, 2025
One final and total humiliation pic.twitter.com/liwzSDv4iL
Images from the farewell address also showed an emergency box of tissues and a glass of water within reach but out of sight from front-facing cameras broadcasting the speech to the nation.