Aides, foreign leaders, donors and members of Congress say President Biden has seemed slower and more often loses his train of thought in recent months, though close aides insist he remains mentally sharp.
Hey, I spent a lot of money. I'm not some nobody. Where's my access!
Donors have complained that Biden's team has barred them from asking questions even at small group events, unusual at high-dollar political fundraisers.
Tennis shoes are presidental?
Biden also sometimes wears tennis shoes and uses a shorter series of steps to Air Force One, to reduce the chances he might trip.
This tidbit is at the very end of the article.
At the White House nine days before the debate, four people who were present said they worried about the president's fitness after observing him at a celebratory gathering to announce a new policy to help immigrants.
Under the sparkling chandeliers in the East Room on June 18, the president seemed off. He appeared frail as he navigated to the stage before the packed crowd of more than 100 people. He sometimes mumbled. In one jarring moment, he appeared to freeze while introducing Mayorkas, and then waved it off as a joke. A White House aide said the difficulty with Mayorkas's name in that moment stemmed from Biden's stutter.
Aides reportedly said it was Biden being Biden.
But others at the event said lawmakers and other attendees whispered concerns about Biden's fitness over iced tea at the White House afterward, as a mariachi band played.
"Everyone talked about it with each other," said a former Biden administration official who attended the event. "We were all like 'That was horrible. We're going to lose the election.'"
An advocate who was in the room recalled saying to others after the event, "he's not going to make it four more years," adding "he's walking like an old man."
"I was in shock," the person said. "It was like I was seeing something nobody else was seeing. … It was so obvious to me."
[...]
The former Biden official was struck by the moments the president seemed less like himself and worried about what it would mean about his ability to take on Trump. The former official came away from the event thinking to themselves: "I don't know how that man's going to debate next week."
That they think they're going to lose because of Biden's health instead of Biden's execution of his office shows how far out of touch these people are. God it's going to be a bloody 2030
Hey, I spent a lot of money. I'm not some nobody. Where's my access!
Tennis shoes are presidental?
This tidbit is at the very end of the article.
That they think they're going to lose because of Biden's health instead of Biden's execution of his office shows how far out of touch these people are. God it's going to be a bloody 2030