Behind the Curtain: Biden's credibility crisis

Some top Democrats told us Biden made matters worse Friday with his ABC interview, where he denied bad poll numbers and widespread Democratic panic.

• "All the pollsters I talk to tell me it's a tossup," Biden told George Stephanopoulos.
• Asked about Democratic congressional leaders, Biden said: "They all said I should stay in the race ... No one said — none of the people said I should leave."

Behind the scenes: Axios' Alex Thompson, the most deeply sourced reporter on the Biden beat, has chronicled, day after day, the number of longtime staff and top Democratic officials who feel deeply angry and misled. These are the president's fans, many on his payroll.

• Lawmakers and top Democrats feel duped by Biden … his press office … his campaign co-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg … his top aides. They all promised the president was sharper than ever.

The media might be Biden's biggest problem of all. It is a fair conservative critique that many reporters ignored obvious signs of cognitive decline. Yes, there are exceptions: Axios, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

• But one tell: Rarely did other outlets follow our exclusive reporting on accommodations for Biden's aging — shorter hours for public appearances, fewer improvisational or late-night moments, and the rise in handlers and devices to help avoid tripping and falling. Some reporters enabled the White House by piling on reporters on social media who questioned Biden's lucidity.

The big picture: Ask yourself: What turn of events would keep Democrats, media and voters from watching every public appearance for hints of decline? How could reporters ever trust Biden aides after they tried to shame reporters who dared point out the obvious changes? How do they reassure lawmakers who now see Biden's age and White House denialism as their problem?

• A top Democrat and Biden backer, asked how the president gets credibility back, said: "Get out of the race."
• "No one is going to take anything at face value, that's for sure," New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker told us.

Some of Biden's own staff is replaying in their heads the past few years, wondering if Biden's decline was purposely hidden, Alex reports. These staffers wondered why people in roles that typically brought access were kept away. They assumed Biden was a proud, private man, more comfortable with family.

• Post-debate, they see things differently. Some feel this was a big, orchestrated effort to conceal the episodic moments of concern. In hindsight, they say it's clear Biden needed help recalling people or events, and getting sufficient rest to handle big moments.

There were so many early signs. Biden rarely did tough interviews — much, much fewer than his predecessors. It was almost always friendly questions on friendly terrain. Presidential scholar Martha Kumar has data showing Biden has given about one-third as many formal press conferences and interviews as former President Trump at this point in their first term — and the fewest formal news conferences of any president since Ronald Reagan.

• Biden routinely mangled words, forgot mid-thought what he was saying, and once gave a shout-out to a dead person. When Thompson or other reporters pushed on this, White House press staff denied things that were self-evident. Then the reporters were torched by Biden-friendly tweeters on X.
• The denials — including the favorite line that Biden works so hard he exhausts the youngsters — strained credibility then, and look ludicrous in retrospect. The report by special counsel Robert Hur (who called Biden "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory"), and the release of the transcript of his interview with Biden, was a great example of pervasive denialism. Thompson honed in more on Biden's memory lapses than others in the mainstream media in a story headlined, "Biden had repeated mental lapses during special counsel interview: transcript."
• Then the debate happened. The common refrain that it was one bad night strikes most outside of the Biden bubble as inconceivable. In truth, some people close to Biden were worried about him during debate prep. He was tired and had a failing voice — hardly on his game. Some in the room knew it could be bad — but not this bad.

It's the wild post-debate excuses that have unnerved Democrats the most. First, it was a cold. Then, much ado about nothing. Then, Ron Klain's fault. Then, the entire debate prep team. Then, one bad, overhyped night. Then, jet lag — 11 days after traveling. Then, mere evidence he needs to go to bed earlier.

• Now, Biden supporters are blaming the media for the feeding frenzy. This might be the hardest thing to control. Hell has no fury like a press corps deceived. Reporters feel duped — and some probably embarrassed —and are scrambling to unearth new evidence of decline.

Olivia Nuzzi, New York Magazine's Washington correspondent, offered a candid explanation for what she called a "conspiracy of silence to protect Joe Biden."  She said a growing number of Democrats, starting a few months ago, confided to her off the record about an alarming decline in Biden's mind and appearance:

• "They needed to talk about it (though not on the record). They needed to know that they were not alone and not crazy. Things were bad, and they knew things were bad, and they knew others must also know things were bad, and yet they would need to pretend, outwardly, that things were fine. The president was fine. The election would be fine. They would be fine."
• It wasn't until the debate that they felt comfortable letting her go public with their (still anonymous) concerns: "Up close, the president does not look quite plausible. It's not that he's old. We all know what old looks like. ... The president was something stranger, something not of this earth."

What they're saying: White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said Biden "tells the truth, honors his commitments, and stands back up when he gets knocked down."

• "President Biden leads the most transparent White House in history," Bates continued, "having restarted the daily press briefings and taken unprecedented action to release policy documents on the issues affecting Americans every day."
• "He has proven himself by fulfilling groundbreaking promises to the American people, including defeating Big Pharma so Medicare could negotiate lower drug prices, making the biggest climate investments in history, confirming the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, and rebuilding the country. He has done over 47 interviews this year alone and had more gaggles with the White House press corps than almost any modern president."
• "He has also proudly fought for the rights of journalists in the world, rather than slander them as 'enemies of the people.' And he insists that his team deals in facts. President Biden has restored honesty, integrity, respect, and compassion to the Oval Office."

The bottom line: Nervous Democrats and skeptical reporters will pick apart every answer in every public setting and dig deep into past meetings. It's called their job. If Biden stays in, it's his new reality.