Biden’s health condition was ‘covered up’ by aides

Joe Biden's time in public office is now behind him, but his age and mental acuity have become a litmus test for the next leaders in his party.

Audio was published on Friday from portions of interviews Biden gave to federal prosecutors in 2023, the latest in a stream of reports putting questions about Biden's health back in the spotlight. Months after former President Kamala Harris lost to President Donald Trump, a new book alleges that White House aides covered up Biden's physical and mental decline.

Several potential Democratic contenders for the 2028 nomination have been asked in recent days whether they believe Biden was declining in office or whether he should have sought reelection before a disastrous debate performance led to his withdrawal.

Many Democrats would prefer to focus on Trump's second term. Trump has done his best to prevent that – mentioning Biden's name an average of six times per day during his first 100 days in office, according to an NBC News analysis – and Republicans have followed his lead, betting that voters frustrated by Trump's policy moves will still prefer him over memories of an unpopular presidency, according to the Associated Press.

In the race for Virginia governor, one of this year's highest-profile contests, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is running a pair of digital ads tying Democrat Abigail Spanberger to Biden, with images of the two hugging and the former president calling her a friend.

"The stench of Joe Biden still lingers on the Democratic Party," Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett said. "We have to do the hard work of fixing that, and I think that includes telling the truth, frankly, about when we were wrong."

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told Politico this week that "there's no doubt" that Biden, now 82, experienced cognitive decline as president.

Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary, wasn't nearly as blunt but still stopped short of defending Biden's decision to run. He responded "maybe" when asked on Tuesday whether the Democratic Party would have been better off if Biden hadn't tried to run for a second term.

The book "Original Sin," by journalists Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, revives a core controversy of Biden's presidency: his decision to run for a second term despite voters, including Democrats, telling pollsters that he should not run again. Biden would have been 86 at the end of a second term had he won in November.

Late on Friday, Axios published portions from audio recordings of Biden's six hours of interviews with prosecutors investigating his handling of classified documents after his term as Vice President ended in 2017.

The Biden administration had already released transcripts of the interviews, but the recordings shed light on special counsel Robert Hur's characterisation of Biden as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" and appeared to validate his claim that the then-president struggled to recall key dates, including the year his son Beau died of cancer in 2015.

Biden and his aides pushed back aggressively against Hur's report, which they characterised as a partisan hit. Biden was at that time – early 2024 –still planning to run for a second term and fending off accusations that he was too old for another four years in the job, the AP report adds.

The recordings released by Axios include Biden's discussion of his son's death. His responses to some of the prosecutors' questions are punctuated by long pauses, and his lawyers at times stepped in to help him recall dates and timelines.

Biden and former first lady Jill Biden appeared on ABC's "The View" in a preemptive defence of his health and decision-making before the first excerpts of "Original Sin" were published.

He said he's responsible for Trump's victory but attributed Harris' loss, at least in part, to sexism and racism.