Information continues to appear about Biden’s cognitive well-being during his presidency. Sources portray him as unable to finish sentences, field questions, or even recognize his old friends or aides. Original Sin, coauthored by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, accuses Biden’s team of a multitude of egregious actions, such as keeping the president armed with several cue cards, lying to the media and others about his health numerous times, along with omitting cognitive examinations from his health checks.

Biden, of course, has always stuttered in interviews, and often misspoke, or spoke his mind a bit more than palatable for most voters. However, evidence suggests that more played into his behavior than strict directions from his team. Some who know Biden have claimed they noticed a change after the death of his son in 2015.  Biden was 72 at the time, around the time his Cognitive Decline can often be observed. Whether he should have stood for president the first time, and whether he was fit to hold office at all, is a question worth asking.

While laws surrounding fitness for political office can be nebulous, we need to start asking whether an aging population of political figures in Washington is suited to the job. Yet, we cannot let our leaders be ineffective due to cognitive inability. 

Some claim that Biden’s opponents hijacked the issue of his age for electoral clout, and while they did, that discounts the fact that such concerns held ground. Others claim Ageism played a part, but can it be considered ageist to ask whether the man in charge of the Nuclear Football can comprehend and complete normal tasks?

Biden’s team made information about his status hard to find, and lied for him, as they viewed Biden’s inabilities in a more favorable light than Trump’s perceived threat to democracy. We did see Biden at the debate, and the response from those familiar was “This is normal.” With his presidency behind us, we can only speculate as to whether he was “unfit,” for office, but regardless, Biden’s inabilities need consideration in future elections involving candidates of advanced age.