Joe Biden Not in Charge, Advisers Running 'Shadow Presidency'—DNC member

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What's New

President Joe Biden is not fully in charge of the country due to cognitive decline, and a "shadow presidency" is controlling him, a Democratic National Committee member has said.

Lindy Li, a member of the DNC's National Finance Committee, expressed her concerns about the mental acuity of the 82-year-old president in an interview on NewsNation on Sunday.

Newsweek has contacted the White House via email and Li via social media for comment outside regular working hours.

Why It Matters

Biden's presidency was rife with concerns about his cognitive abilities, form both sides of the aisle, which were heightened after his subpar performance at the CNN presidential debate in June, leading to the suspension of his 2024 bid. They resurfaced following Vice President Kamala Harris' election defeat, and the White House and several leading Democratic figures have faced criticism for allegedly hiding Biden's mental decline from the voting public, and preventing another candidate from potentially emerging sooner in a Democratic primary.

Joe Biden in DC
President Joe Biden speaks during a holiday visit to patients and families at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, on December 20, 2024. DNC member Lindy Li said there was a "shadow presidency" running the... TING SHEN/AFP/Getty Images

What to Know

The Wall Street Journal recently published a detailed report on a White House that has been functioning with a "diminished" Biden at the helm since as early as 2021.

The report, citing dozens of sources, including Democratic lawmakers and former Biden staffers, said limits were placed on who Biden spoke with, what the president's team said to him, and the types of information he received.

The White House denied the claims that Biden had declined or had been insulated during his time in office.

Speaking to NewsNation Prime, Li said the allegations in the report are "further confirmation of what we've known" about Biden for the past few years.

"People don't want to hear the truth, and it's extremely devastating in so many regards, because President Biden, as a human being, is no longer capable of executing the duties of the commander in chief," Li said.

"Also, we kind of have a shadow presidency of his inner circle of people...certain people around him, his senior advisers, who are essentially running the country."

When asked by host Natasha Zouves to expand on her claims of a "shadow presidency," Li said: "If we were to define that term as an inner circle who's really close to the ranks, who protects him at every juncture—and I know them—then I'm sorry, but it's true."

Li added that the president is "more than just the president" and that the people around Biden are "highly competent and able to execute duties."

She told NewsNation she noticed Biden's apparent decline "accelerating" in 2023 but that the president was "pretty much fine in 2020."

On June 28, following Biden's debate in June, Li had written on Facebook: "I was with President Biden a few minutes after the debate tonight. Here we are at his watch party

"He was amazing and kind as he always is, remembering tiny details about me and my family.

"I don't care what the pundits say about this great man—I will always be Team Biden."

What People Are Saying

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Newsweek: "President Biden has earned the most accomplished record of any modern commander-in-chief and rebuilt the middle class because of his attention to policy details that impact millions of lives, his active solicitation of diverse opinions. President Biden speaks with members of his cabinet daily, and with most members multiple times a week, staying in close touch with them about implementation of key laws and strengthening our national security.

"During every presidency, there are inevitably some in Washington who do not receive as much time with whomever the president is as they would prefer; but that never means that the president isn't engaging thoroughly with others, as this president does."

Democratic Representative Adam Smith of Washington told The Wall Street Journal: "The Biden White House was more insulated than most. I spoke with Barack Obama on a number of occasions when he was president, and I wasn't even chairman of the [House Armed Services] committee."

Joe Manchin, outgoing Democrat-turned-independent West Virginia senator, told The Wall Street Journal: "I just thought that maybe the president just lost that fight—the ability to continue to stay on, just grind it, grind it, grind it."

Link Lauren, a former senior aide to 2024 independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Lindy Li says 'the president has not been cognitively fit to assume the duties of the Oval Office for a number of years now.' Then why did you defend him and say he was fine? Even after that horrific June 27 debate on CNN. I've just never seen someone flip so hard, so quickly."

What Happens Next

Biden will leave office on January 20, when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. Trump, 78, will overtake Biden as the oldest sitting U.S. president in history during the Republican's second term in office.

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