‘Cover-Up Is a Loaded Term!’ Jen Psaki Says She Didn’t Really See Biden Decline Until Trump Debate: ‘I’m Not a Doctor’

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it wasn’t until the infamous presidential debate that she saw signs former President Joe Biden was in decline — but she did point a finger at the media for “maybe” missing some “major stories” on the subject during the campaign.

Psaki, who served as Biden’s press secretary from 2021 to 2022 and is now an MSNBC host, appeared on Semafor’s Mixed Signals podcast with Max Tani and Ben Smith this week, and called suggestions of a cover-up “dangerous.”

“I never saw the person on that debate stage,” Psaki said on the show. “I was in the Oval Office every day. I’m not a doctor. Aging happens quickly.”

The June 2024 debate marked a turning point for Biden’s reelection campaign.

The then-president appeared confused and struggled to complete sentences, raising questions about his cognitive fitness.

Biden later withdrew from the race, and Trump won the November election over former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Psaki rejected the notion that Biden’s aides or the media engaged in a “cover-up” of his condition, as many, especially but not exclusively on the right, have suggested.

“‘Cover-up’ is a very loaded term,” said Psaki. “People use that term as related to Watergate or the covering up of not sharing public information about a war.”

“I think it’s a bit of a dangerous term,” she added.

The question of whether a cognitive decline was covered-up by the press or the White House has been a major topic since Kamala Harris replaced him on the ticket and was defeated by Trump.

CNN’s Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson with Axios have a book coming out on the issue, and Thompson even lightly rebuked the press during last week’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

While figures like Chuck Todd have, like Psaki, pushed back on the idea of a cover-up to hide Biden’s diminished state, others have called for formal investigations or even outright and publicly accused the admin of “gaslighting” the public.

But, when pressed on whether party leaders or journalists knowingly ignored signs of Biden’s condition, Psaki shied away from suggesting any deliberate deception on anyone’s part, while conceding that there were some notable failures.

“Maybe the media missed a lot,” said Psaki, who was both part of the administration and a member of the media during Biden’s time in office.

“In retrospect, there were probably major stories missed. But if you don’t know what’s happening privately,” she said. “It’s always easy to play Monday-morning quarterback. There were major stories and moments missed.”

Psaki said she found Biden’s debate performance disastrous but insisted she never saw him exhibit similar behavior during her time in his administration.

Listen above via Mixed Signals.