Former President Bill Clinton said former President Joe Biden was “on top” of things when he was asked about Biden’s alleged cognitive decline during an interview on “CBS Sunday Morning.”
While speaking with correspondent Tracy Smith, Clinton was asked about the bombshell book “Original Sin” written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios journalist Alex Thompson, which claims that Biden’s aides covered up the politician’s declining cognitive and physical health during his ill-fated reelection campaign.
A Biden spokesperson acknowledged in a statement to Axios last month that “there were physical changes as [Biden] got older,” but insisted that “evidence of aging is not evidence of mental incapacity.”
After Smith asked Clinton if he had ever had “a moment with [Biden]” where he felt that he was “unfit to run for president,” Clinton responded, “No. I thought he was a good president.”
“The only concern I thought he had to deal with was, could anybody do that job until they were 86?” Clinton continued, referring to Biden’s age. “We’d had several long talks. I had never seen him and walked away thinking ‘he can’t do this anymore.’”
Clinton added: “He was always on top of his briefs.”
Smith then pressed Clinton, asking again if he ever witnessed any cognitive decline in Biden, prompting Clinton to firmly reply “no.”
Sharing that he saw Biden “not very long ago,” Clinton said that he “thought he was in good shape.”
Clinton went on to reveal that he didn’t read Tapper and Thompson’s book because he believes that some people are using it as a “way to blame” Biden for Trump being reelected for a second presidency term.
“I didn’t want to because he’s not president anymore, and I think he did a good job,” Clinton explained. “And I think we are facing challenges today with our president in our history. Some people are trying to use this as a way to blame him for the fact that Trump was reelected.”
Biden’s health was a major concern among voters while he was in the White House, particularly following his disastrous debate performance in June 2024 while seeking reelection.
Biden eventually withdrew his candidacy for a second term, with then-Vice President Kamala Harris taking over as the democratic presidential nominee. Harris lost to Republican nominee Trump, who returned to the White House for a second term in January 2025.
Last month, Biden announced that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. The announcement subsequently sparked further questions about what health issues the former president was potentially battling while he was in the White House.
Watch a clip from Clinton’s interview on “CBS Sunday Mornings” here.
