US officials who have worked with Biden in recent months leading up to the debate have noted that he has been increasingly confused, listless, and would lose the thread of conversations behind closed doors, the Tuesday report said.
A senior European official registered a noticeable decline in Biden’s state during the recent Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy, adding that Europeans were in shock to see a US president who was "out of it" and difficult to engage in conversation.
During the summit, European leaders were privately discussing Biden’s physical condition and had to walk slower next to him to avoid embarrassing him, according to the official. In addition, they even had to close their ranks around him at moments when Biden did not appear to be stable and cameras were around.
A former US official said, "I just don’t know" when asked if one could imagine Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the same room. A former European official answered the same question by saying "no."
Discussions on how soon Biden may either resign or be forced to step down for medical reasons erupted across even the US mainstream media and web platforms following the president's dismal performance in his first debate of the 2024 election cycle with former President Donald Trump.
However, the Biden campaign said that it has not held any discussions about replacing Biden with an alternative nominee for the presidency.
Biden 'Knows How to Come Back'
Earlier Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden knows how to bounce back following his concerning debate performance.
"Joe Biden is a person, take away his title, he is someone who has dealt with tragedy, he is someone who has confronted that head on, he is someone who knows how to get back up once you've been knocked down," Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing. "And he knows how to come back."
Jean-Pierre claimed that Biden did not have a great debate because he had a cold, emphasizing the president knows how to do his job and his record proves it.
The official further reiterated that White House is confident Biden is capable of providing US leadership on the world stage despite his age and condition.
"Obviously [Biden] said this but his focus is going to continue to deliver for the American people on the issues that they care about: the economy; expanding health care; fighting for Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security; making sure that we continue to be leaders on the world stage, which is something that this President has been able to do," Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre added that no one in the Biden administration is currently hiding anything about the president's health, and that Biden was not under the influence of any drugs at the time of his debate. It was even further underscored that the sitting president has neither dementia nor a degenerative illness.