MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough passionately defended Joe Biden following a recent report citing congressional leaders who claimed the president is displaying noticeable signs of mental decline in private meetings.
On his show and via social media, Scarborough criticized Republicans who were quoted in a Wall Street Journal article alleging Biden is “slipping” in various private settings. The report asserted that Biden’s diminished faculties are evident in private, although many often observe signs of his mental and physical decline in public. Prominent Democrats quickly condemned both the Republicans and the Journal.
“Biden is far sharper, more intellectually curious, and far more insightful on global affairs than any House GOP speaker I have met over 30 years,” Scarborough wrote on X, formerly Twitter. On his Wednesday show, Scarborough also mentioned “friends” who said French President Emmanuel Macron was impressed after a prior meeting with Biden. “Friends that I have in that French delegation, who were part of those negotiations … said that Macron came out like, ‘Wow, okay, he’s a lot tougher than we expected.’”
Scarborough further asserted that some people find Biden to be “too tough” in these negotiations, attempting to bolster the president’s credibility following the Journal’s report.
Congressional Democrat leaders also stepped up to defend the president, aiming to mitigate the impact of the story that circulated widely among journalists and influential commentators on social media.
“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,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on X. “Instead, the Journal ignored testimony by Democrats, focused on attacks by Republicans and printed a hit piece.”
Senator Patty Murray of Washington commented on the story, calling it an attack aligned with the Republican “agenda” and lamented that an interview she conducted with the Journal was omitted from the final article.
“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,” she stated. “I’m not quoted — I wonder why.”
The Journal’s story was published Tuesday evening under the headline “Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping.” It included both named and anonymous testimonies from officials and staff from both parties who alleged that in private meetings, Biden seemed mentally dull, detached, and uninformed about significant information and details.
“He read from notes to make obvious points, paused for extended periods, and sometimes closed his eyes for so long that some in the room wondered whether he had tuned out,” the article stated.
The article highlighted an incident where GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed concern that during an in-person meeting with Biden, the president appeared either confused or forgetful.
“When the topic moved to an immigration overhaul, Johnson, the House speaker, offered Biden a list of dozens of executive actions he could undo to improve border security,” the Journal detailed. “Biden, rather than responding to Johnson’s suggestions, chided him, according to people at the meeting, ‘I’ve forgotten more about immigration than you’ll ever know.’”
The White House was quoted in the story defending Biden, suggesting much of the criticism was partisan or trivial. The report authors noted that Biden officials went so far as to support the necessity for damage control, prompting some Democrats to reiterate their comments with the Journal.
“The White House kept close tabs on some of The Wall Street Journal’s interviews with Democratic lawmakers,” the article mentioned. “After the offices of several Democrats shared with the White House either a recording of an interview or details about what was asked, some of those lawmakers spoke to the Journal a second time and once again emphasized Biden’s strengths.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks, Democrat of New York, was cited in telling the authors, “They just, you know, said that I should give you a call back.”
