WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — President Joe Biden is not fully in control of the country due to cognitive decline, according to Democratic National Committee (DNC) member Lindy Li, who claimed in a recent interview that a “shadow presidency” is guiding his administration.
Speaking to NewsNation, Li, a member of the DNC’s National Finance Committee, said, “I have my concern about the president’s mental capacity. That 82-year-old president can’t lead, and people around him are making those kinds of decisions on his behalf.”
Biden’s mental aptitude has long been debated and questioned. Critics from both major political parties have claimed there are questions with his clarity of mind. The scandal grew sharper during a June 2024 debate against Donald Trump in which Biden performed poorly to most political analysts and subsequently suspended his 2024 re-election campaign.
Li’s comments have sparked renewed debate over the president’s mental acuity. She said that the concern about Biden’s mental deterioration has been around for a while but has been handled very carefully by those around him. “This report just confirms what we’ve all suspected for a while,” Li said. “There are people in the White House running things while the president is being shielded from the realities of his own condition.”
The Wall Street Journal recently published an in-depth report citing Democratic lawmakers and former Biden staffers, which described a White House that has been operating with a “diminished” Biden since early 2021. The report claimed that limits were placed on whom Biden could speak with, as well as the type of information he received. Sources say that the president’s advisers control the flow of communication and manage his schedule to minimize potential missteps.
The White House has denied such claims. In response to allegations, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that “President Biden is fully capable of fulfilling the duties of his office, and any suggestions otherwise are unfounded and misleading.”
However, his health has been a subject of criticism especially after Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 election. Many Democratic figures have accused the administration of concealing Biden’s decline, thus preventing other candidates from gaining traction during the primaries.
The White House continues to refute the allegations, but the conversation around Biden’s leadership and the influence of his advisers doesn’t seem to be fading anytime soon.
