Joe Biden is reportedly struggling behind closed doors when speaking to advisers and cabinet members. And now a new report shows just how much difficulty he’s really having.
As a behind the scenes look into President Biden’s cabinet meetings reveals all.
While President Biden’s Cabinet members maintain that the commander-in-chief remains sharp and probing during private sessions, the reality appears more scripted and choreographed. The 81-year-old president’s interactions with his top officials are pre-planned, with aides preparing questions and discussion points in advance.
Biden has not convened a full Cabinet meeting since October 2, 2023, marking a nine-month gap.
“The entire display is kind of an act,” a source told CNN about these closed-door sessions. “They would come and say, ‘Hey, the president is going to call on you about 25 minutes in and ask this question. What are the bullet points you’ll respond with?’”
An unnamed Cabinet secretary revealed uncertainty regarding Biden’s health and cognitive state due to the infrequency of their meetings with him.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, not a Cabinet member but appointed by the president, informed House lawmakers that he had not met or spoken with Biden since May 2022. “Any president calls, you come and you meet,” Powell said. “But that hasn’t happened.” He downplayed the lack of interaction, saying, “There can go by long periods of time when the Fed chair doesn’t meet with the president and that’s totally fine.”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed the CNN report, asserting that such preparations are standard for any administration.
“There should not be surprises in Cabinet meetings, be it under President Obama or President Biden,” said Vilsack, who held the same position during the Obama administration. “If a Cabinet member has a question, you should let people know you’re going to ask it.”
Former Obama Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had previously commented in 2015 that Cabinet meetings were often “all for show” and highly scripted events.
A White House official defended the practice of pre-scripted meetings, arguing that it enhances efficiency. “Since there is a lot of interagency effort and work on overlapping subjects, Cabinet Affairs coordinates in advance with speakers so that they know what each Cabinet Member may speak about in order to avoid duplicate briefings and redundancy,” the official explained. “This is normal under different administrations.”
Contrary to this, multiple sources told CNN that such carefully choreographed interactions were not common in the Obama administration. “There’s this general sense of just, unbelievable holding your breath every time he does an event, every time he’s with people,” a Democrat familiar with Biden’s inner circle remarked. “This is going to get worse.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, 77, assured a congressional panel on Tuesday that the Cabinet had not discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Biden from office, defending his sharpness. “The president is extremely effective in the meetings that I’ve been in with him,” she stated, without specifying their last meeting.
Earlier this year, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, 64, defended Biden’s acuity after special counsel Robert Hur’s report sparked concerns about the president’s cognitive state. “The most difficult part about a meeting with President Biden is preparing for it because he is sharp, intensely probing and detail-oriented and focused,” Mayorkas told Meet the Press in February.
Despite managing to quell controversy over Biden’s age earlier this year, a major gaffe at a press conference—where Biden mistakenly referred to the Egyptian leader as the president of Mexico—reignited concerns. Verbal slips have plagued Biden’s presidency, even during meticulously planned events.
Following a recent debate where Biden was seen struggling to maintain his train of thought and appeared stone-faced, the issue of his age became a hot topic. Leaks revealed that many of Biden’s closest allies are concerned about his cognitive state.
So far, 14 congressional Democrats have publicly urged him to step aside as the party’s presidential nominee.
“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” actor George Clooney wrote in a scathing New York Times op-ed, weeks after co-hosting a high-profile fundraiser with Biden and Obama.
Despite these concerns, Biden remains steadfast in his commitment to run for re-election, asserting that he is “firmly committed” and would not be running if he didn’t believe with all his “heart and soul” that he could fulfill the role.
Stay tuned to the Fairview Gazette.
