Congressional Democrats have been quick to condemn recent reports that President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities are in decline, dismissing claims that he is too old to hold the presidency by testifying to their first-hand experiences where he is “on top of his game.”
A Wall Street Journal article published on Wednesday quickly gained praise from Republicans and criticism from Bidenworld after it quoted anonymous sources saying the president’s cognitive abilities are declining. The president’s age and mental fitness are flashpoints for the GOP and significant campaign roadblocks for Biden as he works to convince voters he is viable to serve another term after the 2024 election.
At 81, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. Though Democrats do not deny that he is elderly, they believe Biden’s record and their in-person conversations with him prove he is still fit for the job.
Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is not a young candidate either. At 77, Trump would be 82 at the end of a second term.
“There is no doubt that his movements are slower than they were when he was 40,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said of Biden.
“Trump’s actions are more incoherent and chaotic,” Hoyer continued. “I’d rather have a little slower, a little more rational, and a little more reasonable, a little more committed to civility and our Constitution.”
“My view on that is, I’m going to be 85 on June 14, which happens to be Trump’s birthday also, ironically, and I joke, I said, you know, I’m a little concerned about the president’s age,” Hoyer joked. “I think he’s a little young to run for president.”
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), the youngest member of Congress, said it is not lost on Democrats that the party’s prospective presidential nominee is getting up there in years.
“Is he old? Yes, Joe Biden is an old man. Period,” Frost said. “We know and like, let’s, you know, let’s move on. Donald Trump is just a few years younger — they could have been in the same high school together at the same time.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) echoed Frost, calling the Wall Street Journal article a “transparent effort to change the subject.”
“They’re trying to change the subject by going back to some old tired stuff about Joe Biden’s age. You know, as if those guys weren’t in the same age bracket anyway,” Raskin said, referring to the president and Trump.
A recent ABC News-Ipsos poll found 86% of voters across all political spectrums believe Biden is too old. However, Frost said age does not appear to be the No. 1 priority when he’s meeting with voters.
“I’ve been on the road on the campaign trail, especially with young voters. If they have a criticism of the president, it’s not age,” Frost said.
“People are thinking about policy and stuff,” the Florida congressman said. “So I don’t think we give the voters enough credit when we say, you know, his age is going to be a determining factor. I really don’t think it will be.”
Democrats say they were left out of Wall Street Journal article
The White House did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment but White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates has spent most of Wednesday reposting tweets disparaging the Wall Street Journal’s story on social media.
Some Democrats also blasted the Wall Street Journal on social media for allegedly keeping Democratic voices out of the article. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA) said in a post to X that while she went on record praising Biden, her comments were left out of the published story.
“Surprise, surprise—everyone attacking @POTUS is a Republican with an agenda,” Murray wrote. “I made clear to the @WSJ regarding the January meeting on Ukraine that the President was absolutely engaged & ran that meeting in a way that brought everyone together. I’m not quoted—I wonder why.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also recounted her time spent with the outlet, arguing it chose to “ignore” her comments.
“Many of us spent time with @WSJ to share on the record our first-hand experiences with @POTUS, where we see his wisdom, experience, strength and strategic thinking,” Pelosi said. “Instead, the Journal ignored testimony by Democrats, focused on attacks by Republicans and printed a hit piece.”
Senate Democrats were adamant in conversations with the Washington Examiner that any reports about Biden’s mental capabilities were simply Republican attempts to distract from Trump being found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records last week.
“It’s simply not true. I talked with the president. I’m in meetings with the president. I’m there when the President talks to workers in Massachusetts. He’s sharp, he’s on top of his game, and he’s ready to go,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a top Biden campaign surrogate, said. “The Republicans are hoping that they can keep this fiction alive. That has no basis in fact, but frankly, they got nothing else to run on.”
“They’re backing a convicted felon who says he wants to be dictator on day one,” Warren taunted. “So they’re hoping they can change the subject by making something up about Joe Biden. That’s just not true.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called the Wall Street Journal report “a Fox News trope” when asked for comment.
“I’ve obviously worked very closely and very directly with President Biden on everything from immigration to guns to foreign policy, and I’ve watched President Biden run circles around senators inside the Oval Office,” Murphy continued.
In contrast, Murphy described working with Trump as a “nightmare.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), a close Biden ally on Capitol Hill, described the president as “sharp, engaged, masterful” while questioning the motives of anonymous sources trashing Biden in the media.
“I think it’s important for viewers or readers to reflect on the motives of the folks who are quoted on the record, saying things that are less complimentary,” Coons said. “This is a divided and partisan time, and the campaign is in full cycle.”
Vulnerable Democrats such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) declined to address concerns about Biden’s age but claimed she was “delighted” to campaign with the president when he visited her state.
“I was delighted, for example, to join him in Superior, Wisconsin, where he announced a billion dollars in infrastructure spending to help rebuild an aging bridge called the Blatnik Bridge that connects Superior with Duluth and will welcome him, especially around such announcements,” Baldwin said.
GOP demands Biden interview tape to show ‘mental capacity’
Republicans have long hammered Biden as too mentally incapacitated to serve in the White House another term. The Republican National Committee’s social media accounts repeatedly highlight Biden’s public confusion, missteps, and other blunders. They’ve also pounced on polls showing Biden’s approval numbers declining among the American public.
“We’re talking for years now; we’ve seen his cognitive decline,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) said. “I mean, he’s cooked. His brain’s cooked.”
A recent House GOP target has been the audio recording from special counsel Robert Hur’s classified documents interview with Biden. Many Republicans have argued they need that audio recording to assess Biden’s capabilities in a way that a transcript, which has been provided, cannot. Democrats have blasted their efforts as a GOP scheme to use the audio for campaign videos.
However, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) said Biden’s ability to govern has been “questioned for years now” and American voters deserve to hear the audio recording to judge for themselves whether Biden is fit for office.
“If the president of the United States does not have the mental capacity to do his job, why in the world would people give him four more years? I think this is a critical, critical piece of information that the American people need,” Donalds told the Washington Examiner.
Despite the blunders, slipups, and recent articles, Democrats have mostly sought to defend Biden in public. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Biden has not lost a step in his abilities.
“I don’t see any evidence at all. Just the opposite is true. He’s actively engaged in an agenda that’s going to make this a stronger nation,” Durbin told the Washington Examiner.
Durbin claimed he spoke to Biden as recently as yesterday and said that Biden should continue doing “exactly what he’s doing.”
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“He is actively engaged in leading this country, and that will make the point to all voters,” he added.
David Sivak and Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.
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