Joe Biden 'Conspiracy of Silence' Report Raises Questions

A new report from New York magazine about a "conspiracy of silence" meant to protect President Joe Biden in his reelection campaign has raised questions on social media.

On Thursday, the outlet published "The Conspiracy of Silence to Protect Joe Biden," an article by Olivia Nuzzi, its Washington correspondent, that told a story of a president whose fitness to serve has been questioned among whispers for months.

Nuzzi wrote about a speech Biden gave to a small group of "powerful Democrats and rich campaign donors" in New Jersey on June 29, days after his dismal debate performance against former President Donald Trump. The 81-year-old mumbled through his administration's goals and accomplishments in a hoarse voice on the debate stage in Atlanta, and his team later said he had a cold and was suffering from jet lag.

"The content of his speech would matter less than his perceived capacity to speak coherently at all, though much of what he would say would not be entirely decipherable," Nuzzi wrote of Saturday's speech. "His words as always had a habit of sliding into a rhetorical pileup, an affliction that had worsened in the four years since he began running for president for the third time in 2020."

Nuzzi mentioned "The World Saw Biden Deteriorating. Democrats Ignored the Warnings," a Wall Street Journal report published the day after the presidential debate that referenced instances when Biden seemed to struggle in conversations or did not attend candid talks. The White House denied the Journal's characterization of Biden.

"In January, I began hearing similar stories from Democratic officials, activists, and donors," Nuzzi wrote. "All people who supported the president and were working to help reelect him to a second term in office. Following encounters with the president, they had arrived at the same concern: Could he really do this for another four years? Could he even make it to Election Day?"

Newsweek has contacted Biden's campaign for comment via email.

On X, formerly Twitter, Christina Pushaw, who worked on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' failed 2024 presidential campaign, commented on Nuzzi's reporting, "So, uh, who has actually been running the country and why don't journalists seem interested in reporting that information?"

Jordan Schachtel, who writes the Dossier blog on Substack, said on X, "Why didnt your editors want this published in January, February, March, April, May, or June?"

Nuzzi wrote in her article that the concerned Democrats "were of a similar social strata. They lived and socialized in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles. They did not wish to come forward with their stories. They did not want to blow a whistle."

Mehdi Hasan, the editor-in-chief and CEO of the media company Zeteo and a former MSNBC anchor, quoted a portion of Nuzzi's story on X, "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."

He added in his post: "I'm sorry this is unsustainable and indefensible. Kamala Harris is right there and ready to go."

While there have been calls for Biden to drop out of the race and be replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris or another prominent Democrat, Biden has made it clear that he is staying in the race, and Harris has supported him fully.

The X account for Amuse, a conservative newsletter, questioned the validity of Nuzzi's reporting, writing: "Those stories then weren't believable and now that we've had dozens of governors and congresspeople sit down with Biden and swear that he's completely well - fit for office they are even less believable. Why would so many elected officials risk their careers to vouch for him?"