Keepers of Joe Biden’s secret

In recent days, former President Joe Biden revealed that he’s been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Well wishes poured in from around the country, including from such political adversaries as President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We certainly should pray for the former president as he continues his treatment.

This news comes as questions about Biden’s fitness for the office returned in sharp relief with the publication of a new book, Original Sin by Axios reporter Alex Thompson and CNN anchor Jake Tapper. According to some excerpts released in media outlets, a tight circle in the White House knew Biden’s cognitive decline was serious but withheld this from the public. The reporting, based on interviews with hundreds of White House staffers and Democratic operatives, reveals that advisors even considered using a wheelchair for Biden if he were to be elected, due to his worsening gait and weakening condition. Biden was unable, at times, to recognize longtime aids and his friend, the actor George Clooney. He was kept cloistered and away from key advisors and Cabinet members, some of whom didn’t meet with him for nearly an entire year.

Much of the media coverage of these revelations are focused on the way key Democratic leaders covered up the former president’s decline, even as he stood for reelection. And the ire directed at Democratic leaders is deserved. Consider what Vice President Kamela Harris said about Biden’s fitness, saying in July of 2024, “We have a very bold and vibrant president in Joe Biden.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, “His mental acuity is great. It’s fine. It’s as good as it’s been over the years. I’ve been speaking to him for 30 years. … All this right-wing propaganda that his mental acuity has declined is wrong.”

The coverup of the president’s condition is a massive political scandal, but it is also a massive media scandal. Consider, for instance, the reaction when, in February of 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was tapped to look into President Biden’s handling of classified documents, released a report exonerating Biden but pointing to his status as a “well-meaning elderly man who has a poor memory.” This elicited a flurry of indignation from the liberal press. Joe Scarborough, who swore that “this Joe Biden is the best Biden I’ve ever seen,” ripped into Hur for his comments and accused him of trying to secure a judgeship. Adam Serwer of The Atlantic wrote that Hur “misled the country” by describing Biden’s condition. Many others rushed to dismiss the findings as political and untrue.

Last week, the entire audio of Robert Hur’s interview with Joe Biden was released and given to Axios. The recordings reveal that Hur’s characterization of the president was on target.

Outside of a few journalists, such as Alex Thompson of Axios who reported early that Biden was having significant cognitive issues, most of the White House press corps resisted questions about the president’s health. CNN media critic Brian Stelter often mocked Republicans for talking about Biden’s age. It took a mostly compliant media to allow a secretive White House to foist a myth on the American people that Joe Biden was fit to run for re-election and handle the rigors of the presidency. Thompson rightly called out his colleagues for their failures.

Ironically, the American people weren’t fooled and could see with their own eyes what the White House and the media pretended wasn’t there. A poll in February of 2024 showed that most Americans thought Biden was too old for a second term. The disastrous debate in June of 2024 only cemented this sentiment.

Christians are right to be upset, but not surprised, by this coverup at the highest levels of government. Biden’s inner circle, not wanting to give up power, deceived the American people. The press, fearing any genuine reporting would help elect Donald Trump, turned the other way. I suspect voters will have a hard time trusting Democrats until they come to terms with this and until a new generation of leaders emerges. And the media needs yet more self-reflection.

Still, there are lessons here for conservatives as well. The will to hang on to power, to close our eyes to truth that hurts our side, is a bipartisan temptation. We too are prone to information bubbles and siloed environments that reinforce our biases. We can easily tell ourselves lies in order to defend our side or advance our cause. Scripture reminds us that the impulse to “do evil that good may come” (Romans 3:8) is not a Christian one.

What’s more, we should, unlike the Biden White House, offer transparent leadership and be willing to hear hard truths and not close our eyes to reality. And we should pray for leaders who see their office, not as a divine right, but as an opportunity for humble service.