President Joe Biden in June 2022 skipped a meeting with German officials just a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine so that he could go to bed early, the Wall Street Journal reported. The meeting was kept in the early evening but Biden took a rain check and the German officials were also aware of Biden’s fatigue.
The WSJ report came amid serious concerns over Biden’s health, mental acumen ahead of the 2024 election amid demands for the president to withdraw from the race.The President was seen faltering in his first debate against Donald Trump. Reports claimed Biden’s personal physician met Parkinson’s expert indicating that Biden is probably under Parkinson’s treatment — a claim that the White House vehemently opposed.
Several narratives have been put forward in defense of the 81-year-old president’s mental fragility that he is prone to gaffes during the night time and functions perfectly during the day etc. He reportedly told the Democrat governors that he needs more sleep.
The WSJ report claims the German officials were aware of Biden’s sleep schedule and intentionally kept the meeting early evening so that it could accommodate Biden. but Biden never showed up and Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the meeting instead and announced that Biden had to go to bed.
The report noted that this has been the situation in Biden’s inner circle for around two years now with senior White House advisers “aggressively” stage-managing Biden’s movement and personal interactions.
“The White House has limited Biden’s daily itinerary and shielded him from impromptu exchanges. Advisers have restricted news conferences and media appearances, twice declining Super Bowl halftime interviews—an easy way to reach millions of voters—and sought to make sure meetings with donors stuck to scripted pleasantries,” the report noted.
White House said Tuesday Biden will give a “big boy press conference” as part of the three-day Nato summit of world leaders. “The president will hold a press conference… a big boy press conference we’re calling it,” White House’s national security communications adviser John Kirby said.