Biden’s mental fitness could have been better covered leading up to the debate, some White House reporters acknowledge

President Joe Biden’s White House repeatedly and aggressively shot down reports on the president’s age and any possible limitations on his ability to perform all the duties of his office. But after his shaky debate performance last week, in which Biden routinely struggled to get his point across, some in the White House press corps say they wish they had pushed harder to tell the story.

In June, when the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy piece on President Joe Biden’s mental state, the newspaper got slammed. The White House, its allies, and some in the media – including CNN’s Reliable Sources – criticized the Journal for quoting mostly Republican political foes on the record, who had a clear political motive to damage Biden’s image. No Democrats were quoted on the record making those allegations, and several Democrats complained their on-the-record quotes praising Biden’s sharpness were not included. The Journal defended its reporting at the time.