Former President Joe Biden’s battle with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer comes as he has also battled to defend his legacy, denying claims in a slate of books that allege a decline in his mental acuity in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election and at the end of his presidency.
In “Original Sin” by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, the authors claim that there was an effort by those close to Biden to cover up what they describe as the former commander-in-chief’s “cognitive diminishment.”
In the book, Tapper and Thompson allege the former president’s aides considered the possibility of him needing a wheelchair and claim there were cabinet members who didn’t have consistent access to the president — saying he was shielded by members of his inner circle at the time.
Biden himself denied the book’s claims in an appearance on ABC’s “The View” earlier this month. “They are wrong. There’s nothing to sustain that,” Biden said.
His granddaughter, Naomi Biden, more forcefully addressed the book on social media, calling it “political fairy smut” that amounts to “a bunch of unoriginal, uninspired lies,” she wrote on X.
As Democrats aim to rebuild post-2024 losses, they have largely shied away from answering questions about Biden’s mental acuity, with a couple of exceptions.
Sen. Chris Murphy told Politico there was “no doubt” Biden suffered cognitive decline during his presidency.
While Rep. Ro Khanna said on ABC’s “This Week,” “It’s painfully obvious President Biden should not have run.”
Many, however, have argued that relitigating Biden’s role in Democrats’ loss is unproductive, and claiming that they want to focus on a winning strategy for upcoming elections. Biden’s diagnosis may give them another reason to disengage in conversations about his cognitive health.
For example, David Axelrod, a political strategist and former advisor to President Barack Obama, suggested that conversations about Biden’s mental acuity should be “set aside” in light of his cancer news.
While that may be the case in Democratic circles, Biden’s diagnosis has not quelled questions about his mental acuity from some prominent Republican voices but rather fueled allegations.
“We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job,” said Vice President JD Vance to reporters aboard Air Force Two. “That you can separate the desire for him to have the right health outcome with the recognition that whether it was doctors or whether there were staffers around the former president, I don’t think he was able to do a good job for the American people.”
Biden, even after he has exited political life and as he faces a serious cancer diagnosis, remains a factor in the conversation about his party’s political future.
