Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed in a recent podcast appearance that she never witnessed any signs of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline during her time in the White House, and suggested Republican messaging efforts were largely responsible for shaping public perception about his mental fitness.
Psaki, who served as President Biden’s press secretary from January 2021 until May 2022, made the remarks on the “Mixed Signals” podcast hosted by Semafor.
When asked about Biden’s widely criticized performance during the June 2024 presidential debate, she stated: “I never saw that person — not a single time, and I was in the Oval Office every day, that was on that debate stage.”
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The debate, held in June 2024, resulted in significant concern among Democratic Party leaders and voters.
The fallout ultimately led Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race the following month and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic nominee.
Psaki added, “I’m not a doctor. Aging happens quite quickly.”
Her comments were published Friday in the podcast interview.
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In addition to denying any prior awareness of Biden’s reported decline, Psaki argued that concerns surrounding the president’s mental fitness had been amplified by a deliberate Republican messaging campaign.
“While we know there were problematic things behind-the-scenes now in 2023 and 2024, there was an aggressive all-out pitching operation from the right-wing and from the Republicans about Joe Biden’s age and how he was in decline…the majority of which wasn’t true, in 2019–2022,” Psaki said.
What a joke! 😂
Biden’s former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claims, “I never saw that person (with mental decline) not a single time and I was in the Oval Office every day.”
pic.twitter.com/yHw131uAkH— Jay – ‘President Donald Trump Day’ founder 🇺🇸 (@MAGAresponse) May 3, 2025
She further claimed that the campaign “worked,” contributing to the public’s perception that Biden was unfit for office.
Psaki’s remarks follow months of internal Democratic frustration over how long it took for leadership to acknowledge the president’s diminished public appearances and debate performance.
🔥 WATCH: Fox News’ @CharlesHurt calls out Jen Psaki for claiming it’s “dangerous” to say Joe Biden’s mental decline was a cover-up:
“She says it’s dangerous. It is dangerous. To their grip on power. It is dangerous to the Democrat party. I think they have done generational… pic.twitter.com/r7ph08dRff
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) May 3, 2025
While she was no longer serving as press secretary during Biden’s final months in office, her daily access to the president during 2021 and early 2022 placed her among the senior staff with regular visibility into his condition.
Since leaving the White House in 2022, Psaki has joined MSNBC, where she has hosted a weekly political commentary program.
The network recently announced that she will be taking over the prime 9 p.m. ET slot on Tuesdays through Fridays for a new show titled The Briefing.
The move comes as part of a reshuffle at MSNBC, where longtime anchor Rachel Maddow will continue hosting only on Mondays.
Psaki’s promotion to the primetime lineup places her in one of the network’s most visible positions. The 9 p.m. hour has long been considered a marquee slot in cable news.
Maddow, one of MSNBC’s highest-profile personalities, reportedly earns $25 million annually under her current agreement, despite now hosting just one night per week.
Psaki’s comments are expected to further fuel debate over the transparency of the Biden-Harris administration and media coverage related to the president’s health during his time in office.
Her assertion that Republican messaging shaped the narrative surrounding Biden’s capacity to serve contrasts with months of public concern voiced by bipartisan figures following his final debate appearance.
Psaki continues to maintain her role as a political analyst and anchor at MSNBC.
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Dangerous, I think not, the truth is never dangerous.
It is to leftoids…
Oh everyone is supposed to trust her now after all the lies she has told?
If Jen couldn’t see Biden’s obvious decline [i could see it half a world away via a TV screen]..how could ANYONE trust her judgement and bother to watch her on the net…?Maybe she should ‘get off the saki’.
If she never seen his decline, then she is the dumbest person on this planet. I am just a regular person of no inportance and I saw his decline even before he was elected president. Said so many times on comments. Even said Jill should be ashamed for wanting to be First Lady, living in the White House more than she cared about Joe. I had even ask where the rest of his family, for not caring enough about him to let him go home and live the rest of his life out in peace. Elder Abuse is what it was and his staff was in on it along with his family.
Ohhhh! Jen P-saki is talking ‘Commie Speak’ when she tells people it’s ‘dangerous’ to say anything that’s not the ‘Party’s approved speech. Everyone knew that these people were phonies the first time they opened their mouths.