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Democrats had major concerns about former President Joe Biden's decline and cognitive abilities ahead of his June debate against President Donald Trump, despite publicly maintaining that the former president was fit to serve another four years, according to a new book by reporters Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes.
"Publicly, Democrats scoffed at Republican claims that Biden wasn’t up to the job," Allen and Parnes wrote. "But privately, some of them worried all along that they were putting too much stock in an old man who, at best, had long since lost his fastball."
Allen, a senior politics reporter at NBC News, and Parnes, a senior political correspondent for The Hill, wrote a book set to be published in April titled, "FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House," about the 2024 election. The Hill published a report on Monday based on excerpts from the new book.
The reporters revealed that the former president's team had put extensive precautions in place to hide Biden's decline and had several plans in place if the president died while in office or if he chose to step aside, according to The Hill.
BIDEN INSIDER EXPRESSES HOW WHITE HOUSE ‘GASLIT’ THE PUBLIC ABOUT FORMER PRESIDENT'S DECLINE
Former President Joe Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. B (Susan Walsh/AP)
Allen and Parnes reported in their book that Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., was worried about Biden's decline in June 2023, after speaking to the president at a White House event.
The authors revealed that Biden did not immediately recognize Swalwell, according to the report, and that the California Democrat needed to remind the former president of who he was with personal details.
Allen and Parnes also reported that the president met with a makeup artist every morning, prior to travel and before calls with his aides, to cover up visible signs of aging.
The president also occasionally canceled the briefings that followed his makeup appointments, according to the book.
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Eric Swalwell (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Another excerpt of the book published by The Hill revealed that Biden had repeatedly urged former Vice President Kamala Harris not to break with him on certain policies.
"He would say publicly that Harris should do what she must to win. But privately, including in conversations with her, he repeated an admonition: let there be no daylight between us," the authors wrote.
"But the day of the debate Biden called to give Harris an unusual kind of pep talk — and another reminder about the loyalty he demanded. No longer able to defend his own record, he expected Harris to protect his legacy," Allen and Parnes continued.
"Whether she won or lost the election, he thought, she would only harm him by publicly distancing herself from him — especially during a debate that would be watched by millions of Americans. To the extent that she wanted to forge her own path, Biden had no interest in giving her room to do so," they wrote.
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Rep. Swalwell's office and Biden's team did not immediately return a request for comment.
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