Joe Biden’s stubborn refusal to face his obvious decline cost Democrats the White House, according to the authors of a new piece in The New Yorker.
Biden's faltering health, hidden by loyal aides, became undeniable at a June 15, 2024, fundraiser and a disastrous June 27, 2024, debate, forcing his exit from the 2024 presidential race on July 21, 2024, events that paved the way for Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office, according to journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson.
Biden’s insistence that he could have beaten Trump defied all evidence. Polls at the time showed that he faced a crushing defeat, worse than Vice President Kamala Harris’s eventual loss as the Democratic Party nominee. The then-president's inner circle shielded him from these harsh realities, fostering a dangerous delusion. Public skepticism about Biden’s fitness grew long before elites acted.
Biden’s limitations were stark: a need for restricted work hours, moments of freezing, and trouble recalling names. He struggled to communicate clearly in issues that were unrelated to his lifelong stutter. Despite good days, his decline was unmistakable, Tapper and Thompson explain.
Efforts to hide Biden’s condition crumbled at a March 2024 fundraiser. Organized by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, the event raised $26 million with Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton taking center stage. Yet, Biden’s frailty was already sowing serious doubts among supporters.
By June 15, 2024, those whispers became roars at a Los Angeles fundraiser. Raising over $30 million, the event saw Biden take tiny, halting steps on stage, require directional assistance, and fail to recognize actor George Clooney, a longtime supporter. Attendees described him as slow and incoherent.
Obama stepped in when the situation grew tense, finishing Biden’s sentences and guiding him offstage. Biden’s team blamed a grueling travel schedule, calling videos of his blank stares “cheap fakes.” But the damage was done; supporters left stunned and disillusioned.
Clooney, who hosted the event with Julia Roberts, was shaken. He noted Biden’s diminished state compared to their past meetings, such as a 2009 Darfur advocacy event. Others, including Congresswoman Annie Kuster, concluded that Biden couldn’t win re-election.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, at a June 15 wedding, voiced similar concerns. He hinted at a “Plan B” if the upcoming debate faltered. Biden’s sluggish speech and gait reminded Schumer of his mother’s battle with Parkinson's Disease.
The June 27, 2024, debate against Trump was a catastrophe. Biden struggled to articulate his thoughts, made incoherent remarks like “We finally beat Medicare,” and appeared startlingly frail. His performance shocked Democrats and the public alike.
Democrat senators, including West Virginia's Joe Manchin, planned to confront Biden after a July NATO summit. No meeting ultimately happened, but pressure mounted. Biden’s team clung to denial, insisting he was fit to lead, the authors note.
On July 8, 2024, Biden defended his continued candidacy in a letter. He cited 14 million primary votes and dismissed internal party challengers such as Dean Phillips. But his arguments rang hollow against public evidence of his decline.
Clooney, after consulting Obama, published a July 10, 2024, New York Times op-ed. “I love Joe Biden,” he wrote, but urged him to step aside, citing the aforementioned fundraiser and subsequent debate struggles. He warned that Democrats faced defeat with Biden atop the ticket.
Katzenberg, a Biden loyalist, disputed Clooney’s account, blaming jet lag for Biden’s fundraiser performance. Biden’s adviser Steve Ricchetti was furious, urging Clooney to delay the op-ed. Clooney stood firm, later reflecting on Democratic Party deception in a 2025 stage play.
Biden’s exit left Harris with a 107-day campaign window, called a “nightmare” by adviser David Plouffe. Democrats entered the fall with an untested nominee and eroded trust. Biden’s refusal to face reality, according to Tapper and Thompson, handed Trump the presidency in what was a bitter lesson in hubris.
