Conversations concerning President Joe Biden are no longer about his debate debacle, having morphed into debates about whether he should continue as president, let alone be the Democrat’s choice for the 2024 presidential election. CBS News reports high-profile, senior members of the Democrat Party, including Reps. Jerry Nadler of New York, Mark Takano of California, Adam Smith of Washington and Joe Morelle of New York said Sunday during a Zoom meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies that Biden should leave the race, according to a person on the call and three other people familiar with the meeting.In a contentious press briefing at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded repeated questions from reporters about Biden’s health, whether he has been tested for Parkinson’s Disease or other mental illnesses. Jean-Pierre's responses were vague. In an interview on Friday with former Democratic Party operative George Stephanopoulos, arranged by Biden’s staff to white wash his debate performance, Biden refused to concede any deterioration of his condition, telling Stephanopoulos that he is no more frail today than he was four years ago and categorically ruling out subjecting himself to a cognitive test, which he said he had not undergone, according to the Washington Free Beacon. "I get a full neurological test every day,” said Biden. “I have a cognitive test every single day." Biden’s gaffs and physical mishaps have been widely documented. Even when he is reading from teleprompters, which is most of the time, Biden has verbally stumbled. And not just at large events. On Monday, The Washington Post reported Biden was in a multimillion-dollar home in Palo Alto, CA, recently with a group of donors who sat on couches and chairs facing Biden. “Everything about the scene spoke to the kind of intimate setting that donors pay thousands of dollars to attend, with a chance to have a small interaction with the world’s most powerful officeholder in someone’s home,” said The Post. But, in addition to the 30 people gathered to hear Biden, at the front of the room from where he spoke was a lectern and a teleprompter, with two large screens about six-feet high. “The teleprompter has been the primary accommodation to assist a president whose speech can meander and who can seem to lose his train of thought,” said The Post, adding “for much of his political career, one of Biden’s hallmarks has been his plain-spokenness, his identity as an off-the-cuff pol who did little to shield his real thoughts. He was a self-professed ‘gaffe machine,’ a trait that endeared him to voters even if it gave his advisers heartburn.” Now, says The Post, ‘Teleprompter Joe’ has replaced the off-the-cuff president, which has been noticed by donors who are used to informal private remarks from him, but now hear the same scripted comments he makes in public. In an article in New York Magazine, reporter Olivia Nuzzi wrote, “Longtime friends of the Biden family, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity, were shocked to find that the president did not remember their names.” “Saying hello to one Democratic megadonor and family friend at the White House recently, the president stared blankly and nodded his head. The First Lady intervened to whisper in her husband’s ear, telling him to say “hello” to the donor by name and to thank them for their recent generosity,” wrote Nuzzi. The Post says Biden’s staff have become very protective of the president.“Before news conferences, his staffers call reporters in an effort to ferret out what questions they might ask, a practice that was not typical in earlier presidencies.” On the weekend a reporter from Philadelphia-based WURD Radio, Andrea Lawful-Sanders, resigned after admitting her post-debate interview with Biden included questions that were pre-selected by Biden’s campaign team, reported CNN. That practice is highly frowned upon in the media. “The interview featured pre-determined questions provided by the White House, which violates our practice of remaining an independent media outlet accountable to our listeners,” Sara Lomax, president and CEO of the Philadelphia-based station, announced in a statement on Sunday. “As a result, Ms. Lawful-Sanders and WURD Radio have mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately.” Biden’s colleagues in Washington DC aren’t the only supporters leaving the president’s camp. A CBS News poll found 46% of Democrats (up from 36% in February) and 72% of registered voters (up from 63% in February) think Biden shouldn't run for president. Additionally, an ABC poll found 86% of Americans thought Biden was too old to serve another four years.
