Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said Tuesday that former President Joe Biden appeared to be in decline within months of taking the oath of office in 2021.
Biden’s health issues and cognitive decline during his term in office have been detailed in books released since the 2024 presidential election, with one book, “Original Sin,” by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, reporting that Biden failed to recognize Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney, a long-time supporter. Kennedy recounted meeting Biden during a 2021 bill-signing ceremony during an appearance on “Hannity.”
“I met with him about midway through his first year. We went to a — I went to a bill signing, I passed a bill, and he wanted to have a picture with a Republican. As soon as he signed the bill, his staff tried to get me to leave and I wouldn’t do it,” Kennedy told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “I just started talking to the president and we talked about — I wanted to get him talking. We talked about his dog, Major. We talked about Corvettes. He showed me his cabinet room.”
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“But here’s what I concluded,” Kennedy continued. “President Biden, remember, this is his first year, he had reached that point in life when all he wanted to do was sit around, talk about the old days, tell stories, and when he got tired, he wanted soup and an early bedtime. And I came back to my office and I told my staff, I said, ‘I will bet you that the White House is not getting more than four hours of solid work out of the president.’”
The Wall Street Journal published several articles about Biden’s declining mental acuity prior to his July 21, 2024, announcement that he would not seek reelection. Despite multiple sources confirming the reports, these articles faced pushback from other media outlets and Democrats.
On December 19, 2024, the Journal revealed that White House aides had “insulated” Biden, even from his Cabinet members, as his health and mental capacity continued to deteriorate.
“It was clear that he — you saw the beginning of a neurodegenerative disease. That wasn’t his fault. We all age differently. But I knew it was going to get worse and it did. And his staff, they hid it very carefully, but they reached the point, finally, they couldn’t hide it,” Kennedy said. “He had to debate President Trump and — and we know how all that turned out.”
“But I remember thinking — I remember thinking, you know, my dad was like this in his last years, and I had to take away his truck keys,” Kennedy continued. “And President Biden had reached that point in his life. It was kind of sad, frankly.”
In May, Biden announced he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that metastasized to the bone. Prostate cancer that has spread to the bone is usually considered Stage 4B cancer with a survival rate of 37% over five years from diagnosis, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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