Psaki Defends Biden’s Cognitive State During White House Tenure, Addresses Debate Fallout and Media Coverage
Former White House Press Secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki has weighed in on the controversy surrounding President Joe Biden’s perceived decline in cognitive abilities, particularly in the lead-up to his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. In a recent series of interviews, Psaki defended her experience working with Biden, maintaining that she never observed any signs of the issues that later fueled widespread concerns about his fitness for office.
Psaki, who served as White House Press Secretary from January 2021 to May 2022, stated emphatically that she never witnessed the individual portrayed during Biden’s June 2024 debate performance. "I never saw that person – not a single time, and I was in the Oval Office every day, that was on that debate stage," Psaki said on the "Mixed Signals" podcast. The debate is widely considered the catalyst for increased scrutiny of Biden’s cognitive state, ultimately leading to his decision to drop out of the race the following month and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Acknowledging the rapid effects of aging, Psaki noted that she had not seen Biden in person for the two-and-a-half years between her departure from the White House and the November election. "I’m not a doctor. Aging happens quite quickly," she added on the Semafor podcast. Despite not witnessing the alleged decline firsthand, Psaki admitted that she was shocked by Biden’s debate performance, saying: "I was like, is he OK?"
The former Biden aide cautioned against using the term "cover-up" to describe the White House’s handling of questions surrounding the president’s age and health. Psaki emphasized the gravity of the term "cover-up," associating it with serious offenses like Watergate or concealing information about a war. She argued that applying such a loaded term to the White House’s response to concerns about Biden’s age was "a bit of a dangerous term."
Psaki also addressed the role of the media in covering Biden’s health, expressing reluctance to directly criticize their coverage. "Maybe the media missed a lot," she conceded, while also suggesting that it’s easier to evaluate media performance with the benefit of hindsight. Her comments come after Axios reporter Alex Thompson used a speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner to criticize the media for not adequately covering Biden’s perceived decline.
In defending the media, Psaki pointed to the concerted efforts by right-wing media outlets and Republicans to portray Biden as being in decline, even during the period when she was working closely with him in the White House. "While we know there were problematic things behind-the-scenes now in 2023 and 2024, there was an aggressive all-out pitching operation from the right-wing and from the Republicans about Joe Biden’s age and how he was in decline….the majority of which wasn’t true, in 2019-2022," Psaki claimed. She suggested that this relentless campaign from the right may have created a hesitancy among some journalists to report on legitimate concerns about Biden’s health, for fear of playing into a pre-existing narrative. "That effort by the right worked," she said.
Psaki expressed disappointment that Biden’s legacy would be tarnished by the events of the 2024 election, where questions about his fitness for office took center stage. The contrasting approach of her successor, Karine Jean-Pierre, in dismissing concerns about Biden’s age and labeling videos of him as "cheap fakes," was not directly addressed by Psaki.
These comments from Psaki arrive as she prepares to take on a more prominent role at MSNBC, anchoring the 9 p.m. ET slot Tuesdays through Fridays with a new program called "The Briefing." This move signifies a significant promotion for Psaki and demonstrates MSNBC’s confidence in her ability to attract viewers and contribute to the network’s political coverage. Rachel Maddow, who previously hosted the 9 p.m. hour five nights a week, will return to her regular schedule of hosting only on Monday nights.
The timing of Psaki’s interviews also coincides with the release of several tell-all books offering insider accounts of the 2024 presidential race. These books have shed light on the concerns surrounding Biden’s health and the internal debates within his campaign about his ability to serve another term. For example, in Chris Whipple’s book, "Uncharted," the author claims that Biden’s inner circle "convinced themselves in spite of the evidence" that Biden was capable of serving another term. These narratives have only intensified the scrutiny surrounding Biden’s decline and the actions taken by his staff.
Psaki’s defense of Biden’s cognitive state during her time in the White House, coupled with her acknowledgment of the later issues, paints a complex picture of the situation. While she maintains that she never witnessed the decline firsthand, she doesn’t deny that it occurred. Instead, she emphasizes the rapid effects of aging and the influence of right-wing media in shaping the narrative around Biden’s health. Her comments will likely continue to fuel the debate surrounding Biden’s fitness for office and the role of the media in covering sensitive issues related to presidential health. The questions remain: how much did the White House staff know about the president’s declining health and at what point did they become aware of it? These questions will continue to be asked.
