Joe Biden shows signs of slowing down. Even in closed-door meetings. This was written today in a news analysis by the Wall Street Journal, which recounts the feelings of the participants in the meetings with the president of the United States.
Biden sometimes closes his eyes for an extended period, other times he takes extended pauses. He often speaks in such low voices that it is difficult to hear him.
Some of the people who work with him, including Democrats and some who knew him as vice president, describe him as “slower, someone who has good and bad moments.”
The WSJ interviewed a total of 45 witnesses who met him recently. While White House officials deny the 81-year-old president’s difficulties. And they say Republicans make false statements for the sake of political fighting.
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Biden shows signs of “lucidity deterioration”
The WSJ article starts from an episode that dates back to last January. During a meeting with congressional leaders to negotiate funding for Ukraine, Biden spoke so softly that some attendees struggled to hear him.
He read notes, took long pauses and sometimes closed his eyes so long that some in the room thought he had fallen asleep.
During a private conversation dating back to last February in the Oval Office with House Speaker Mike Johnson, the president referred to his administration’s major energy projects as merely studies.
While last year, as he negotiated raising the debt ceiling with Republicans, his behavior and mastery of the details seemed to change overnight. This was stated by the then Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.
«Biden is no longer the same person»
«I met him when he was vice president. I went to his house. He’s not the same person anymore,” McCarthy said in an interview. At 81 years of age, Biden is the oldest president of the United States.
His age and cognitive ability became major issues during his campaign for a second term, both in voters’ minds and in attacks from Republicans. The White House maintains that the president remains a strong and vigorous leader.
Yet some who have known him long, including some Democrats, described a president who now appears slower, someone who has both good and bad moments. For years Biden has had the reputation on Capitol Hill as a great negotiator of legislative agreements, thanks to his more than detailed knowledge of the issues.
Read also: Biden, the most famous gaffes of the US president
