Michelle Goldberg, a prominent liberal columnist for The New York Times, has recently critiqued the Democratic Party for its ‘groupthink’ and institutional denial of former President Joe Biden’s worsening mental health during the 2024 campaign. Her response to a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson highlighted how Biden’s inner circle allegedly covered up his decline, sparking a broader discussion on the party’s failure to address public concerns. The book, titled ‘Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,’ revealed that aides discussed the possibility of Biden needing a wheelchair if re-elected and his inability to recognize George Clooney at a fundraiser. Goldberg argued that these revelations underscore the Democratic Party’s reluctance to confront the issue, a problem she described as the ‘original sin’ that party leaders must grapple with.
Goldberg emphasized that while some members of Biden’s inner circle may have hid the worst aspects of his decline, the public’s concerns were evident. She pointed to voter polls indicating that many felt Biden was too old to run for re-election, prompting her to question why the party’s leadership failed to see the same. Her criticisms extend to House Democrats who, she claimed, lacked the courage to speak out on the issue, reinforcing a pattern of complacency and risk aversion within the party. She urged for more courage and less deference, saying that the public’s recognition of the problem should not be ignored by those in power. Despite the controversy, the Democratic Party’s stance on Biden’s mental health remains a central point of contention in the 2024 presidential race.