This episode’s got me tangled up. Seriously, was there some secret Joe Biden cover-up? Back in 2020, like many of you, I had my worries about Biden’s age. I kept pestering White House staffers, “How’s Joe really doing?” And you know what they told me? “He’s fantastic, totally in command!” These were pals, folks I trusted. But now I wonder, were they deluding themselves?
Fast forward, Biden melts down in debates, Covid’s chaos swirls, and the talk of pulling him from the ticket grows louder. Even Kamala’s sprint into action couldn’t mask the unease. Then Trump reemerges. The chatter about Biden not running again was hotly contested, even when some thought it nuts.
Fast forward again — a significant loss falls on Biden’s shoulders. Key Democrats point fingers. Could’ve been avoided if he’d stepped down sooner, right? His tight-knit advisors? They seemed to blindly push him forward. Now, was there a cover-up? If so, it reveals some calculated maneuvering within.
It’s unsettling. How can loyalty blind us to what’s smack dab in front of us? Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson delve into this in their book “Original Sin,” peeling back layers of what Democrats should’ve realized sooner. Now penned before Biden’s cancer diagnosis (and wishing him well), this episode feels even juicier.
Getting into Tapper’s chat, we dive deeper into this whole conundrum. Special prosecutor Robert Hur’s interviews with Biden were bizarre. Ever hear someone say the prosecutor labeled Biden a nice old guy with a foggy memory? Yep. That’s about the gist of it, plus confusion over dates and events — it was almost surreal.
Some say Hur tried to be fair, avoiding prosecuting the president despite the memory gaps. Others claim it was merely political theater. Reading transcript snippets, you sense an unnerving truth — Biden seemed too forgetful for a crime requiring intent.
The pushback? Not about lawbreaking; it centered on age — a glaring hint from the White House where lines were drawn. Garland, the attorney general, comes out looking like his independence got stifled. Biden didn’t want that.
Onto city politics! I somehow end up at the White House the day Hur’s report comes out — what timing! Though preoccupied with another story, my head’s filled with questions: “Is Biden up for this?” Sparse interviews, limited press conferences… his campaign energy was questionable. And then, they skipped the Super Bowl interview. Waving red flags much?
The administration blamed the skipped interview on the impending Hur report drop — classified info, old age vibe — they avoided the heat. Then a fiery Biden calls a nighttime press conference, mixing Egypt and Mexico during his memory defense. Slips like these? They shifted my doubt from, “Is he capable?” to, “He’s struggling.”
About Bo, Biden’s beloved son — heartbreak over his passing explains much but doesn’t excuse everything. Biden’s memory flubs, when inflated by stress like Hunter’s legal woes, deteriorated his essence. Lines blurred between age and pressure.
The chapter on lies? Oof. Maybe it’s not so simple. Campaign spin and spin it seems — reality bent for politics’ sake. Biden’s team stuck with stories of his mastery, keeping discomfort under wraps. But a lot happened in rooms we didn’t see — what goes unseen, stays in shadows.
As we pondered the “cover-up,” sthickened. Were they telling tales they wanted to believe? Both, it seems. Words hold weight, leaving dilemmas on what to reveal versus conceal. Politics at its most convoluted.
This story, unsolved and unraveling, leaves me pondering today’s political landscape. How do we sift through spin to find grains of truth? It’s chaotic and messy, but isn’t that life?
