Will Biden’s Age-Related Mental Issues Ever Be Investigated? Americans Hope So: I&I/TIPP Poll Terry Jones
he Los Angeles riots, the “No Kings” protests, and Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities have taken attention away from the growing scandal of former President Joe Biden’s age-related mental issues and whether White House aides illegally made decisions on the ailing commander in chief’s behalf.
But the scandal remains and, as the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows, a majority of Americans want an investigation.
It’s a scandal of huge proportions, with the media covering it up and rogue political actors both inside and outside of the White House hiding Biden’s mental problems and, possibly, even making decisions for a president mentally unfit for duty.
A recent book authored by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios writer Alex Thompson. “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” detailed how underlings exercised presidential power and concealed Biden’s growing mental issues.
“One of the things that really, I think, comes out in our reporting here,” Thompson explained on Fox News, “is that if you believe — and I think a lot of these people do sincerely believe — that Donald Trump was and is an existential threat to democracy, you can rationalize anything, including sometimes doing undemocratic things, which I think is what this person is talking about.”
So, how do Americans feel about this?
The online national I&I/TIPP Poll, taken from May 28-30, asked 1,395 adults the following question: “A new book claims that some White House aides tried to hide President Biden’s mental health problems to prevent Donald Trump from winning reelection. What should be done next about this matter?”
More than half (51%) wanted some sort of investigation or inquiry, with 27% supporting “a criminal investigation to hold those involved accountable,” while 12% backed “hold congressional hearings to find out who knew what.” Another 12% opted for “investigate the Democratic Party’s role in covering it up.”
Of the remainder, only 7% said they supported the option to “create a bipartisan commission to investigate and report,” while 30% boosted what was perhaps the most cynical choice of “do nothing, it’s just politics as usual.” Another 12% were not sure.
As is almost always the case when a politician of either party is involved, political affiliation defined much of the response to this question.
For instance, the most aggressive proposal put forward – to launch an investigation and hold those who were involved “accountable” – garnered minor support among Democrats (15%) and independents (21%), but won a solid plurality of Republicans (42%).
Of the next three responses, none won even 20% support from any party, and one – “Create a bipartisan commission to investigate and report” – didn’t even breach the 10% level for any party.
The final, and perhaps most cynical, choice – “Do nothing, it’s just politics as usual” – got the strongest support from Democrats (48%) and indie voters (33%), but barely got double digits among GOP voters (10%).
One pattern for this response was intriguing: The older the voter, the more cynical the voter was. Just 21% of those age 18 to 24 picked “Do nothing, it’s just politics as usual”; for those 25-44, it was 22%; those 45-64, 32%; and for the oldest group, 65 and over, it was 42%, twice as high as the youngest cohort.
Prolonged exposure to politics, it seems, breeds political cynicism.
And that’s exactly what the Tapper-Thompson book showed: The incredible cynicism of the Democratic Party’s entire 2024 election cycle as Biden, clearly unable to exercise his presidential duties, shuffled through a series of election appearances propped up by aides eager to win another four years in the White House. Why? Though unelected, those largely anonymous aides would wield enormous power doing the job of a mentally failing president.
As a long-time Biden aide told the “Original Sin” authors, “He just had to win, and then he could disappear for four years. He’d only have to show proof of life every once in a while. His aides could pick up the slack.”
The issue came to a head after it was revealed that a faction in the White House appeared to be using the president’s autopen – essentially, a mechanical device that renders an exact version of a president’s signature – to sign dozens of pardons and untold numbers of other official documents, including executive orders.
The Times of London recently identified what it called a “Biden ‘politburo’ accused of running the country in secret,” which included: Biden’s long-time political adviser Mike Donilon, top legislative aide Steve Ricchetti, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, policy adviser Bruce Reed, First Lady Jill Biden and her top aide Anthony Bernal, and Biden’s son and confidant Hunter Biden.
Even some Democratic Party stalwarts now lament what was done on their behalf.
“They did such a disservice to Joe Biden and to the country,” the book quotes Obama adviser David Axelrod saying. “The family as well. I don’t understand how you could see him in the condition he’s in and think, ‘Yeah, you oughta go [run for president again].’ To do that to someone you love?”
As the I&I/TIPP Poll reveals, a slim majority want an investigation of some kind into Biden’s mental issues and the behavior of his aides during his presidency. But whether a full accounting of what some call the greatest White House scandal in history will ever take place is an open question.
I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past six presidential elections.
Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.
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