Biden is not the first president to conceal the truth. There is a long history of lies about presidential health
A new book has confirmed what was evident to millions of people last year: Joe Biden was unfit to continue to serve as president.
“Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” peels back the carefully constructed myth that Biden was healthy and alert enough to run for a second term. Reporters Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios interviewed approximately 200 people to reveal an aging president who was mentally and physically failing.
“The original sin of Election 2024 was Biden’s decision to run for re-election — followed by aggressive efforts to hide his cognitive diminishment,” Tapper and Thompson wrote.
Many people with access to Biden witnessed his forgetfulness, the slow shuffle that replaced a brisk walk, and his scratchy, weak voice. They knew the man who served his nation for half a century and defeated President Donald Trump in 2020 was no longer present.
In his place was an 81-year-old man who tired easily, didn’t recognize people he had known for many years, and had difficulty standing for an extended period of time. His closest aides considered placing Biden in a wheelchair but decided to wait until after the 2024 election to avoid political damage.
No one came forward to spill the beans, to say the emperor was without clothes, that President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. needed to retire at the end of his term, if not before.
The truth tumbled out like an incomplete, stumbling sentence from Biden during his debate with Trump on June 27. From the start, it was obvious Biden was not the same man, not capable of engaging in a meaningful discussion of major issues, not able to challenge Trump when he lobbed outrageous claims and outright lies.
Voters ignored those as well. They were fixated on the sight of an old, frail man who clearly was ready for retirement, not another four years in the most demanding job on earth.
Still, Biden, his wife Jill, other family members and his closest aides, dubbed “The Politburo” — fought for him to be the Democratic nominee. Even today, Biden cites nonexistent polls to claim he could have won.
The report that the former president has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer adds a sad codicil to concerns about his health. Such is the risk of choosing people in their 70s and even 80s to serve as president.
This is not the first time family members and top aides conspired — and yes, that is the correct term — to conceal a president’s health problems from the American people.
Shortly after beginning his second, nonconsecutive term as president, Grover Cleveland learned a rough, sore spot on the roof of his mouth was a cancerous tumor. The burly president enjoyed cigars, food and alcohol, which may have been factors in his illness.
Cleveland and his aides were determined to keep the diagnosis secret. They feared the public would wonder if he was capable of serving the balance of his term, possibly triggering an economic crisis. An amazing plan was put into place.
On July 1, 1893, Cleveland underwent surgery aboard a friend’s yacht that had been converted to a surgical center. Almost his entire upper left jaw was removed along with five teeth. A hard rubber prosthetic was attached to his mouth, allowing Cleveland to appear and speak normally. He even retained his trademark walrus mustache.
The secret surgery was kept from the public for 24 years. One reporter, E.J. Edwards, did reveal the truth shortly after the yacht procedure, but the White House denied his story and worked to discredit him.
Finally, in 1917, with Cleveland dead, one of his doctors, William Williams Keen, told the truth in an article and later in a book. Somehow, the lie had held for more than two decades.
President Woodrow Wilson, during his second term, suffered a major stroke, his fourth in more than two decades, on Oct. 2, 1919. His left side was paralyzed, the vision in his right eye was greatly reduced, and his ability to speak declined.
He would never fully recover, and yet, he refused to consider resigning. Wilson, nearly blind and partially paralyzed, even dreamed of running for a third term in 1920!
His personal physician, Rear Adm. Cary Grayson, and his wife, Edith, kept the reality of the president’s compromised health from the public. They in some ways became the president.
Wilson’s dream of a League of Nations to work for world peace failed when Congress refused to sign on — would a healthy president have made a difference?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was left paralyzed from the waist down after an attack of polio in 1921. FDR worked heroically to regain his strength and relied on wheelchairs, metal leg braces and the support of his sons and friends to create the illusion that he could walk. He was twice elected governor of New York and was the Democratic candidate for president in 1932.
Most Americans had no idea the ebullient, powerfully built man they elected president an unprecedented four times was in actuality unable to walk a step unaided. Still, FDR led the nation out of the Great Depression and was the commander in chief during the most dangerous and deadly war in world history.
Other lies and half-truths have been spread by presidents.
William Henry Harrison, who turned 68, a very advanced age then, before taking office in 1841, grew ill days after assuming the office. The public and other leaders were not informed of the serious nature of his illness, and he died after just a month in office.
Other health issues were hidden, including Dwight Eisenhower’s heart problems, even after a 1955 heart attack during his first term. John F. Kennedy’s Addison Disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands, was carefully hidden.
In fact, while JFK was the youngest man elected president and appeared an athletic, fit man, he was likely the unhealthiest president in history, with a very bad back and other troubles.
Lyndon B. Johnson had skin lesions removed dozens of times while he was president. These efforts to derail cancer before it struck were kept secret, of course. It was revealed in 1973, after LBJ had died.
In October 2020, Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19. The White House initially said he was experiencing “mild symptoms” before he was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the weekend. His chief of staff, Mark Meadows, later admitted it had been a serious case that caused some concern.
Trump appears hale and hearty but he will turn 79 on June 14, and if he completes this term, he will pass Biden as the oldest president in history. Do we have any assurances that Trump, his family and his team will be honest with us about his health?
Of course not. Like all presidents, Trump will consider the political implications of any disclosure of illness or health challenges. He will claim he is the healthiest, strongest, most vital man to ever hold the office.
Unless some way is developed to force a president to be examined by doctors who are not in their employ or under their influence, we must expect the truth to be obscured, the facts hidden.
It’s all about politics and power, not honesty and openness on a crucial matter that Americans have a right to be informed on in a completely transparent manner.
Such a stunner, eh?
Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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