Old, Frail And Moody: White House Aides Finally Tell Truth About Lame-Duck Joe Biden

White House aides are describing a weary, frail and moody President Joe Biden in the final months of his time in office after years of insisting the 82-year-old could run for a second term, according to The New York Times.

Since dropping out of the presidential race and even more so since the 2024 election, Biden has largely disappeared from the national stage. President-elect Donald Trump has dominated headlines as he has nominated his cabinet and conducted meetings with world leaders. Biden’s chief of staff, Jeffrey Zients, has said the president wants to “sprint to the finish line” in the coming weeks, but those close to Biden have observed a slower, more tired president, according to the NYT. (RELATED: With All Eyes On Trump, Biden’s Bubble Gathered For One Last Swanky, Insulated Sendoff)

“He looks a little older and a little slower with each passing day. Aides say he remains plenty sharp in the Situation Room, calling world leaders to broker a cease-fire in Lebanon or deal with the chaos of Syria’s rebellion. But it is hard to imagine that he seriously thought he could do the world’s most stressful job for another four years,” the NYT writes.

During Biden’s trip to the Amazon rainforest in November, those close to the president on his travels noticed an increase in his “fragility,” the NYT reported. After giving remarks on the trip, the president turned and walked down a dirt path behind the lectern, which left several people in the audience not used to seeing him up close holding their breath and concerned the 82-year-old would trip, according to the NYT. Aides told the outlet that the president’s gait was no more unsteady than usual.

Shortly after, in December, the president took a trip to Angola where he was scheduled to visit the National Museum of Slavery. Upon attendance, artifacts were brought out to the president for him to see because there was fear he could not climb the steep stairs in the building, two people familiar with the planning told the NYT. The outlet notes that the White House said the president did not go inside because of logistical reasons and denied that the stairs were a challenge during the visit.

US President Joe Biden steps off Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on December 5, 2024. President Biden returns from Africa for a historic first visit by an American president to Angola.  (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Others who traveled with the president during those two trips noted to the NYT that the 82-year-old often mumbled and was hard to understand while his schedule was kept rather light. The outlet reported that during one private meeting the president began to reminisce about the 1960 debate between former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

In the final weeks, Biden made the decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, after insisting for months that he would not. The move was met with backlash from both sides of the aisle, leaving the president with anger that Democratic members of Congress publicly voiced their opposition to the choice, one person who spent time with the president recently told the NYT.

While some people close to Biden finally admit his slowing state, some have noticed an “engaged” president, the outlet reported. (RELATED: White House Morale Reportedly In Shambles Due To Biden Stiffing Staffers On Photo Ops)

“He seemed fine,” Elaine Kamarck, a longtime Democratic National Committee member who attended a Special Olympics dinner alongside the president, told the NYT. “To my amazement, he stayed through the whole dinner. We all thought maybe he would disappear, but no, he sat down, he ate with everybody, he stayed through all of dinner. And he seemed just fine.”

The concerns about the president’s declining fitness haven’t slowed operations within the White House, according to the NYT, citing Zients.

“During a time when most would expect us to slow down, you are accelerating” Zients wrote in a memo to White House staff obtained by the NYT. “I know you and your teams are pushing forward on every issue, yard by yard.”