Does Joe Biden have dementia? That's a question that terrifies the White House, and Politico offers some fresh evidence that the president's health isn't what it's claimed to be. 

For years, there's been an insistence that Biden, despite his very public bouts of senility, is an absolute workhorse behind closed doors. White House coffee boy Andrew Bates recently reinforced that narrative, claiming that the president has such high stamina that it leaves his staffers unable to keep up.

Meanwhile, at the White House: https://t.co/7Zeh5Kldcr pic.twitter.com/iBmVr97t5A

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) June 30, 2024

The problem with that claim is that it's such obvious nonsense. Biden is clearly sundowning, and if this quote from Politico is true, it sure seems like the cause is dementia. 

ALSO SEE: Politico Drops Another Bomb on Biden 

During meetings with aides who are putting together formal briefings they’ll deliver to Biden, some senior officials have at times gone to great lengths to curate the information being presented in an effort to avoid provoking a negative reaction.

“It’s like, ‘You can’t include that, that will set him off,’ or ‘Put that in, he likes that,’” said one senior administration official. “It’s a Rorschach test, not a briefing. Because he is not a pleasant person to be around when he’s being briefed. It’s very difficult, and people are scared shitless of him.”

Anyone who's been around someone with dementia knows the symptoms, and having to curate information to specifically avoid angry, irrational outbursts is a telltale sign. "Put that in, he likes that," one senior official said as if they were talking about a child. It's insane, and a stark contrast to Bates' laughably false claims. 

Take that and add it to the leaks from White House aides saying that Biden is only largely functional between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, and the picture gets a little clearer. He's sundowning, has to be led around by handlers in public, and can't control his emotions even in settings where you'd expect calm discourse. Call it a coincidence, but all those things point to the president having dementia. It just makes too much sense. 

Yes, it is. My mother flew into rages during the last couple of years. It was horrifying and so sad. She never did that prior to her decline.

— Pam D (@soirchick) July 2, 2024

This is the level of chaos that an already perilous re-election effort simply can't afford. The back-biting has begun, and once that starts, it's hard to get everyone back in line. When you have White House officials continually leaking damaging information, that's a sign that things are out of control. Further, as the Politico article explains, because Biden's inner circle is so small and insular, there's little reason to think a change in strategy will occur. Jill Biden, Hunter Biden, and a couple of top advisors are running the show, and their thirst for power is clouding any rationality about the situation. 

As I've said before, there is no out here. There's no saving political grace riding in on a white horse over the horizon. This is the president and he's the Democrat nominee. I know there's been some suggestion that Republicans will regret Biden's probable dementia being exposed because he could then be replaced, but that's so unlikely as to not be a serious concern. Short of the president choosing to step aside voluntarily, which would also dictate he resigns from office (because you can't be too senile to run for re-election but fine to finish out a term), there is no path to replace him. 

The collapse has started, and it's not going to be pretty.