Americans ‘gaslighted’? Ex-White House staffer says Democrats were ‘scared to death’ over Joe Biden's cognitive decline

Ahead of the US elections in November 2024, there had been lots of concerns regarding former US President Joe Biden's age. Recently, a former staffer of First Lady Jill Biden argued that ex-POTUS Biden’s campaign was 'gaslighting' the public by dismissing concerns about his cognitive fitness for office.

“There are some things that are true, I mean, like the gaslighting. There was a lot of denial of the polling,” said Michael LaRosa, who served as press secretary for former first lady Jill Biden from 2021 to 2022, reported The Hill.

The 81-year-old former president's age was such an issue that aides were “scared to death” of letting Joe Biden do off-the-cuff interviews ahead of the election, mentioned the New York Post in one of their reports.

'Joe Biden's age doesn't mean anything'

LaRosa also stated that Joe Biden's campaign message was to tell people that the polls reflecting the public’s concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity ‘didn’t mean anything'.

“Cover-up to me is a little hard, a little harsh. Every politician, everybody, every human being tries to cover up age. We were always, from day one, cognizant that age was an issue,” added La Rosa, while speaking at the Science Institute at American University seminar, reported The Hill.

Concerns about Joe Biden's age

Ahead of the US elections, polling by several media outlets throughout the 2024 campaign consistently showed that many voters were concerned about Joe Biden’s mental ability to serve another term. The White House, however, at the time, repeatedly insisted that Biden was in good health.

Although some surveys also indicated some concern about President Donald Trump’s mental fitness, the concerns about Biden were consistently higher.

Mounting pressure over concerns about his mental decline, coupled with dismal polling, ultimately led Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race and endorse his then-vice president, Kamala Harris, reported The Hill.