Democrats had grown increasingly concerned about President Joe Biden's age and abilities long before his debate performance spurred calls for him to drop his re-election bid – which he eventually did as those worries became more urgent.
The president raised eyebrows in October 2021 during a meeting with congressional Democrats urging them to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. After he left, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was forced to articulate the points he failed to make in his own disjointed presentation, reported the Wall Street Journal.
“It was the first time I remember people pretty jarred by what they had seen,” recalled Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who tried to recruit other Democrats to run primary campaigns against Biden before launching his own, ultimately unsuccessful challenge.
Substantial majorities of voters agreed that Biden, now 81, was too old to seek a second term in office, but the Democratic National Committee and state party organizations erected barriers to would-be challengers, and some lawmakers expressed frustration that concerns about the president's age and fitness were swept under the rug until they burst into view during the June 27 debate.
“I am really concerned about what we were not told during these months,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). “I remain concerned about that — that for whatever reasons, this overprotective, stage-managed kind of operation not only appears to have denied the American people broadly of an understanding of the president’s current situation, but also other elected officials.”
Some lawmakers and donors close to Biden expected that he would not seek another term after Democrats performed a bit better than expected in the November 2022 midterm elections, but that success instead encouraged him to run again despite concerns from the few individuals who spent much time around the increasingly sheltered president.
“He started looking like he was struggling more physically and mentally, probably by about the end of last year, to a degree greater than it had been before,” said Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA). “That did worry me a little bit.”
Some of the president's allies now admit they had looked the other way when confronted with signs that he might be slipping.
“I was probably rationalizing,” said one longtime donor. “Subconsciously, you’re like — OK, I don’t think I can deal with this reality. What choice do I have? Nobody else is running.”
