New book: Biden aides discussed using a wheelchair in second term

CNN Former President Joe Biden s physical deterioration was severe enough in the second half of his presidency that his aides privately discussed putting him in a wheelchair for his second term according to a new book from CNN s Jake Tapper and Axios Alex Thompson Axios shared Tuesday on the new details from Original Sin President Biden s Decline Its Cover-Up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again which is being distributed on May The book is based on more than interviews mostly with Democratic insiders almost all of which occurred after the balloting was over According to the overview Biden aides presumed it was politically untenable to have the president use a wheelchair during his reelection bid but they concluded he might have to do so if he won a second term Biden s physical deterioration greater part apparent in his halting walk had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair the authors write Biden s personal physician Dr Kevin O Connor privately warned the president s association that if Biden had a bad fall in or a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a laborious recovery Tapper and Thompson record The details help illustrate how the gang around Biden took strategies to try to protect him during his reelection bid including finding shorter walking paths to stages adding handrails to any initiatives and using a smaller staircase to board Air Force One the authors summary Biden s crew had insisted that he was up for a second term until his disastrous June debate performance against Donald Trump which led to him dropping out of the race three weeks later Aides began walking with Biden across the White House lawn to the Marine One helicopter not just to block the visual of his walk but also in affair he fell according to Axios Tapper and Thompson statement that Biden began forgetting names staring blankly at people he d known for well over a decade and became more disoriented and incoherent when he was fatigued In response to the book s reporting a Biden spokesperson mentioned in a report to Axios that Biden s medicinal exam made clear that he had a stiffened gait caused in part by wear and tear to his spine but that no special healing was necessary and that it had not worsened He was transparent about this and it was far from severe the report added Yes there were physical changes as he got older but evidence of aging is not evidence of mental incapacity And so far the message continued 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 In fact the evidence points to the opposite he was a very effective president Biden and his wife Jill Biden defended his performance as president in a joint interview on ABC s The View earlier this month pushing back on suggestions he experienced cognitive decline in his final year in office The people who wrote those books were not in the White House with us and they didn t see how hard Joe worked every single day Jill Biden reported The-CNN-Wire Cable News Configuration Inc a Warner Bros Discovery Company All rights reserved Source