Joe Biden’s aides discussed putting the former President in a wheelchair if successful in a second term, a new book has claimed.
The 46th President’s deteriorating health - which was most apparent in his “halting walk” - had become so “severe” that his aides had discussed whether he would be safer off his feet.
The bombshell book claims that his team believed that putting him in a chair for his re-election bid would harm his chances of winning, though were open to the idea if he gained a second term.
“Biden’s physical deterioration — most apparent in his halting walk — had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the President in a wheelchair,” the authors said.
Joe Biden’s aides discussed putting the former-President in a wheelchair if successful in a second term, a new book has claimed
Reuters“Given Biden’s age, [his physician Kevin O’Connor] also privately said that if he had another bad fall, a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a difficult recovery.”
His aides are said to have become extremely worried about a bad fall after Biden tripped over a sandbag in 2023.
The tumble prompted his team to take extra precautions to ensure the President did not take a fall again. This included encouraging him to wear trainers and plotting easier walking routes.
The upcoming book ‘Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again’ features interviews with multiple Democratic insiders.
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Biden falls over sandbag in ColoradoGetty ImagesIt is written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson and will be released on May 20.
One source told the authors that Biden’s late withdrawal from the 2024 Presidential Election “totally f***ed” the Democrats.
David Plouffe, a top adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign, said that the race against Donald Trump was a “nightmare”, thanks to Biden’s late-stage decision to withdraw.
“It’s all Biden,” he told the authors. “He totally f***ed us.”
Joe Biden and Kamala HarrisReuters
He dropped out of the race following his disastrous June 2024 debate performance against Trump
CNNDespite clear signs of Biden’s mental and physical decline, he was still pushing ahead with his re-election campaign, the book says.
He dropped out of the race following his disastrous June 2024 debate performance against Trump. He tapped out of the race three weeks later.
In response to the book’s reporting, a Biden spokesman said that his “medical exam made clear that he had a stiffened gait caused, in part, by wear and tear to his spine — but that no special treatment was necessary and that it had not worsened.”
“He was transparent about this, and it was far from ‘severe’,” the statement added. “Yes, there were physical changes as he got older, but evidence of ageing is not evidence of mental incapacity.”
