Sen. Ron Wyden accuses White House of covering Biden's mental decline

Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon sat down for an interview on CNN This Morning to discuss his thoughts on any Democrats in the Senate who called for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.

Wyden's recent statement may have left the White House feeling completely blindsided.

Show host Kasie Hunt asked “Did you feel, at the time, when Biden was still running for president, before that debate performance, that he was up to the job? Did you have any concerns ahead of time?”

Wyden’s response made news on Breitbart.

“During the first days of the term, we worked very closely together, and he was on the program,” Wyden began.

“I wrote the biggest investment in fighting climate change in American history. … President Biden was with us every single step of the way. We said we’re going to reward people who reduce carbon. We’re going to have an effort to lower energy prices. It stood together. He was all in,” Wyden continued.

That’s when Wyden’s statement took a drastic turn.

“But, clearly, after that big package went through in the first couple of years, I think he was not out on the trail as much, not in part of those spontaneous discussions, and it showed,” he explained, sharing criticism of the of the decisions made by the White House during that time.

He also explained details of what he believes happened during Joe Biden’s administration and his abbreviated 2024 campaign.

“I’m having town hall meetings this weekend at home. I’ve had 1,100 of them. And I’ve said to my staff, the day that I can’t do these open to all town hall meetings, stand there, take unscripted questions for an hour and a half, I’ve got to do something else. And clearly, that was part of this,” Wyden said.

“I think that the White House hadn’t had Joe Biden out there doing those kinds of sessions. And we saw the consequences,” Wyden continued.

.@RonWyden confirms to @kasie that then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer privately urged President Joe Biden to abandon his 2024 campaign in July.

"Certainly, Senator Schumer talks to all of us. The big joke is he knows all of our phone numbers by heart," Wyden said. "So… pic.twitter.com/o7oaeIaKZr

— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) January 17, 2025

Do you think anyone expected Wyden to criticize his own party’s decisions surrounding Joe Biden’s time in office and his 2024 run for the White House?