Did you have this on your bingo card? According to a report from MJ Lee of CNN, a well-known Democrat has alleged that Biden’s advisors have warned White House staffers and "beat the s**t out" of anyone who contradicts the White House narrative on Biden's health.
"You helped break that CNN reporting that there are a lot of Democrats furious, furious with Biden advisers, furious with them. What — tell us more," Tapper asked.
“Yeah, you know, one thing that we have heard so consistently since that CNN debate, some two weeks ago was how shocked Democrats across the board were by the president's performance and seeing him be so halting and dazed at moments on that debate stage. You know, we talk to a lot of folks who said, 'Of course, we know that he has aged. Of course, we had seen some signs, especially over the last year of his decline in terms of his physical stamina, his mental clarity,'" Lee explained.
Lee explained that according to these Democrats, the Biden they saw on stage at the debate was "basically unrecognizable" and that there is "a lot of anger and the blame that is being placed on the inner circle of advisers and family members around the president, and what these people say is this really painstakingly choreographed and stage-managed daily operations at the White House around the president that is set up specifically designed to prevent the public from often seeing the president in these extended, unscripted settings."
Lee continued:
And one thing that many of the books that we spoke with that they are so furious about is this idea that when people have gone to these inner circle of advisers around the president to express some of these concerns, that they were not taken seriously, or really brushed aside.
This is what one top Democrat told me. They said: Everyone who expresses any level of suspicion or contrary views, they call everyone and they beat the s**t out of them and say 'stay on message.'
Now, it is not just the inner circle of advisers that is getting a lot of this heat. It is also members of the president's family who, of course, have been up there, are really standing by the president's decision to so far stay in this race. (Emphasis added)
"And what is the White House saying in response to all of this?" Tapper asked. "Because it's a barrage of a governor, a senator, a House member, and it's pretty typical, none of them saying, yes, he's the best candidate for us to keep the White House, not one of them saying -- I mean, they're being as polite as they can be really. Is there any sense inside the White House or the Biden campaign that they're hearing what is being strongly implied in public?"
"I mean, we got an extensive response from the White House to our story defending the breadth of the president's recent travels, his engagements with the press, certainly his record in the first three-and-a-half years in office," Lee told Tapper. "They also provided comments from senior officials in the administration, basically saying the president is sharp."
How’s that return to civility working out?
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) July 12, 2024
CNN’s MJ Lee reports that Biden’s advisors threatened White House staffers that they will “beat the shit out of” anyone who goes off message about Biden’s health.
pic.twitter.com/q4el4G5Lwu
How's that return to civility going?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member