Dem 2028 presidential prospects backpedal over Biden's mental decline

Democrat hopefuls for the 2028 presidential ticket have been backpedaling on their comments that tried to convince Americans that former President Joe Biden was "sharp as a tack" during his presidency, now that the extent of his reported decline has been coming to light.

New details surrounding Biden's decline while in office, including that aides worried about needing to put Biden in a wheelchair, have been surfacing with the publication of Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's book, Original Sin, which details the extent to which some covered for Biden's decline while he was in office. Along with those revelations, many Democratic politicians who could go for the presidency in 2028 have reversed on the subject of Biden's mental capabilities or defended their previous comments. 

“As a governor in a state halfway across the country … I was busy working,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said when she was asked about Biden on CNN this past Thursday. “I didn’t see the president frequently. And I can tell you, I can’t speak to that directly."

Last year, amid Biden's devastating performance, Whitmer told MSNBC's Alex Wagner that she would "continue to support" Biden and that she had "confidence" in his abilities for the presidency.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who was floated as a running mate for Kamala Harris in 2024, has also made comments to justify his previous comments supporting Biden.

“I was very frank with the president during his campaign about what I saw were some of the shortcomings,” Shapiro said to Politico.

Although publicly, in 2024, when he was asked if Biden had slipped at all, he said at the time, “Not at all, and I’ve been in regular contact with the president.” He also told Democrats multiple times to “stop worrying” about whether Biden could get elected.

Pete Buttigieg, who ran a failed presidential campaign in the 2020 primaries, also told reporters recently that having Biden run in 2024 was “maybe” a mistake. However, after Biden’s disastrous debate, Buttigieg commented that Biden was a “focused and disciplined leader."

The comments from the Democratic politicians come as audio of Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur from October 2023 has also been released, further shedding light on the president’s mental capacities when he was in office.