Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein said on CNN Monday night that sources have told him that President Joe Biden has appeared in the same manner as he did during last week’s debate more than a dozen times over the past 18 months, which alarmed those close to him.
“These are people, some of whom are very close to President Biden, who love him … and they are convinced that what we saw last night, the Joe Biden that we saw, is not a one-off,” Bernstein told CNN. Anderson Cooper. “There have been 15 to 20 occasions in the last year and a half where the president appeared much like he did in that horror show.”
Biden’s performance in the debate against his competitor, presumptive Republican Party nominee Donald Trump, has raised concerns throughout the Democratic establishment. Calls to replace him As the 2024 presidential candidate has grown, and the president and his surrogates have spent days doing damage control, voters can be assured that his age — he is 81 — will not be an issue.
“Folks, I wouldn’t be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I can do this job,” Biden told supporters in New York after the debate last week.
Regardless, a chorus of lawmakers have expressed reservations about the president and asked for more transparency. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Monday he was “shocked” by Biden’s actions and said he was one of many voters who wanted to ensure his team would be “candid with us about his condition.”
Bernstein added in the interview Monday night that some of his sources have told him over the past six months that there has been “a clear incidence of cognitive decline.”
“What these people are saying and have been saying for a while is, ‘Yes, he’s great when we see him like he did tonight. But he also has inexplicable moments that we are very concerned about,” Bernstein said.
The journalist went on to say that he was told that Biden remained strong on foreign policy and retained the support of his staff. But Bernstein said there are more and more questions that need answers.
“I’ve been hearing for two years how sharp Joe Biden is in his national security meetings,” he said. “He has an absolute command of the facts and is as sharp as can be. … We’re clearly dealing with two sets of one person and it really needs to be explored based on the people I’m talking to.”
“But this is a problem that won’t go away,” Bernstein added, “unless it can be explained.”