Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy said former President Joe Biden suffered from cognitive decline in office and would be better for the party if he didn’t run for reelection.
“There’s no doubt about that,” the Connecticut Senator said when asked whether Biden had experienced cognitive decline as president. “The debate is whether it was sufficient to undermine his ability to act as a CEO.”
Murphy, widely regarded as the 2028 presidential candidate, said that if Biden refuses a 2024 bid, it would help Democrats.
“I mean, isn’t that trivial? We lost,” he said. “Obviously, looking back, we should have done something different. No matter how much possibilities were stacked up for us, but obviously people were looking for change and neither Biden nor Harris could provide the real message of change.”
So far, few elected Democrats have spoken directly about publicly attacking Biden’s cognitive abilities. Buttigieg, the former Transport Secretary’s butterfly, said on Tuesday that “maybe” Democrats would have been better if the former president hadn’t run for reelection, but Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said she would have to drop out before the Democrat primary because Vice President Kamala Harris was left behind for her, and she would have to “not introduce her” to the public.
Democrats face questions about Biden’s age as the former president reappears on the national stage and sat in an interview with “The View” last week, where a pair of well-known journalists are set to release a book about what the author describes as aggravation in the former president’s office.
After Biden’s tragic debate performance last year, Murphy defended him as “one of the most effective presidents I have ever served,” but said his performance “supposed the question.” That February, before the debate, Murphy pushed back against those who claimed they weren’t. “I know he’s ready for this campaign.”
