Over the past few months, as public concern grew about President Joe Biden’s mental state, many Democrats have defended him, calling him “wise” and praising his cognitive abilities.
But after Biden’s disastrous debate performance on Thursday, the party seems less eager to defend the president’s intellectual vitality.
While Republicans have sounded the alarm about Biden’s mental capacity, many Democrats have been eager to assure the public that Biden remains as sharp as ever. The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to several of those same lawmakers to ask if they still felt the same about Biden’s mental capacity after he frequently stumbled, froze and lost his train of thought during the debate. (Related: After ‘disastrous’ debate performance, panicked Democrats scramble to find Biden’s replacement)
Summary of the 1 Minute Discussion: pic.twitter.com/YCuBnZSw0U
— DC Shorts (@theDCshorts) June 28, 2024
In a February 9 interview with CNN, New York Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman reflected on his interactions with Biden after the October 7 massacre.
“I can safely say he was as astute as anyone I spoke to on these incredibly complex and geopolitically urgent issues,” Goldman said.
Goldman did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF about whether he would continue to stand by his comments praising Biden’s intellectual acuity.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also defended the president after The Wall Street Journal published an article on June 4 that criticized Biden’s mental health. Pelosi reportedly called the WSJ article an “attack piece.” Post to X Starting from June 5th.
“Many of us [the WSJ] To document our direct experiences [Biden]”There you will find his wisdom, experience, strength and strategic thinking,” Pelosi said in the post.
After the debate, Pelosi sidestepped the issue of Biden’s eligibility, saying Trump “told yet another set of lies that must be rejected along with his candidacy,” according to a June 27 post by X. (Related: Nancy Pelosi explodes after MSNBC host fact-checks Trump’s economic policies)
Pelosi’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
Pelosi declined to comment on Biden’s performance in this morning’s debate, but said, “I saw honesty on the one hand and dishonesty on the other, compared to someone who has been lying all this time. ” Of Trump, she said, “He’s a fool. He thinks I plotted his own assassination. He’s sicker than I ever thought he would be.” pic.twitter.com/W0p1Acr6vN
— Alejandro Alvarez 🫡 (@aletweetsnews) June 28, 2024
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also endorsed Biden, calling Biden’s intellectual acuity “incredible” in a February 13 interview with The Hill.
“I speak with President Biden regularly,” Schumer told The Hill, “usually several times a week. His mental capacity is excellent. He’s in good spirits. He’s as good as he’s been in years. He’s in good spirits. All of the right-wing propaganda that his mental capacity is declining is false.”
According to a June 27 post by X, after the debate, Schumer said the choice was “four more years of progress, or four more years of attacks on our fundamental rights and democracy.”
Like Pelosi, he has not publicly commented on Biden’s performance, and his office did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman told the DCNF on February 9 that Biden is “totally sane.”
“While many of your readers believe that Trump is fit to be president, I disagree,” Fetterman told DCNF, “and I think some of your readers feel that President Biden is not fit, but they’re both older gentlemen who are running for office and have made verbal gaffes throughout this time. [campaign].”
Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May 2022, downplayed Biden’s debate performance as a “rough debate,” according to a June 28 post on X.
“I refuse to join the Democratic vultures who are riding Biden’s shoulders after the debate,” Fetterman said in the post. “No one knows better than me that a tough debate is not the sum of a person and their record.”
Fetterman’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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ATLANTA, GA – JUNE 27: US President Joe Biden exits with First Lady Jill Biden after the CNN presidential debate at CNN Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. President Biden and Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump, face off in the first debate of the 2024 presidential election. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California also sided with Biden. “I’ve met with the president twice in the last two weeks,” Khanna told The Washington Times on February 11.
“I’ve spoken to him. He’s very mentally astute.”
Asked if he could vouch for the president, Khanna replied, “I can vouch for policy,” according to The New York Times. (Related story: ‘Total obstruction’: Democratic Rep. Ro Khan slams party’s response to Trump, says focus should be on ‘core issues’)
“We have a great team that’s helping us govern,” Khanna told The New York Times on June 28. “I’m going to continue to advocate for that.”
Canna’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar defended Biden’s mental state in a statement to NBC News on February 18, describing him as “focused.”
“I flew with the president on Air Force One from Washington, D.C., to Wisconsin for an infrastructure project,” Klobuchar told NBC. “I was with the president for over an hour and we spoke about a variety of issues, both domestic and international. The president was focused. He had a good memory. It was the same experience I had just a few weeks ago when my Democratic and Republican colleagues met with the president for hours on the Middle East.”
Klobuchar did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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