Veteran CBS News reporter Jan Crawford dinged news organizations for not thoroughly covering President Biden’s “obvious cognitive decline” this year until it became unavoidable during his disastrous debate against Donald Trump over the summer.
Crawford, the network’s chief legal correspondent, insisted stronger reporting on the topic could have changed the entire election as she responded to a question from “Face the Nation” moderator Major Garrett about the most underreported story in 2024.
“Undercovered and underreported, that would be, to me, Joe Biden’s obvious cognitive decline that became undeniable in the televised debate,” she said on the Sunday morning show.
She then noted recent reporting by the Wall Street Journal that detailed how White House aides covered up Biden’s mental decline over the past four years.
The explosive report says staffers formed a tight circle around the 82-year-old Democrat to limit his in-person interactions.
“And yet he insisted that he could still run for president. We should have much more forcefully questioned whether he was fit for office for another four years, which could have led to a primary for the Democrats,” Crawford said.
“It could have changed the scope of the entire election.”
Questions about Biden’s mental fitness grew while his first term dragged on as some news outlets, including The Post, reported on his steady stream of gaffes and on-camera struggles.
Following the octogenarian’s June 27 debate in which he struggled mightily, reporting on whether Biden could lead the nation ramped up. He was eventually replaced as the Democratic nominee by Vice President Kamala Harris in July.
Harris ultimately lost to Trump, who is retaking the White House on Jan. 20.
“Yet still, incredibly, we read in The Washington Post that his advisers are saying that he regrets that he dropped out of the race, that he thinks he could have beaten Trump,” Crawford said of Biden and his staffers.
“And I think that is either delusional or they’re gaslighting the American people.”
Robert Costa, CBS News’ chief election and campaign correspondent, noted on “Face the Nation” that Biden has said he was sick during his rough debate performance “and he’s always been fine and he leaves fine.”
“That is his position, the position of many of his top aides as well, even though there is that reporting,” Costa said.
