According to people in his orbit, while Biden is surrounded by a diverse and multigenerational crowd of campaign operatives, policy experts and cabinet secretaries, he reserves his full trust for a small circle of insiders, a cadre of senior aides.
This includes political adviser Mike Donilon, counselor Steve Ricchetti and Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, who all have steered him through previous crises and urged him to stay in the race even after the disastrous face-to-face with former President Donald Trump. These three are sometimes referred to inside the White House as "the poobahs," "the grey hairs" and, less often, "the triumvirate."
Concerned Biden supporters and Democrats believe this shrinking group of "yes" people block negative information from getting to Biden.
"I have heard that Steve and Bruce and Mike are more dug in than he is," said one former Biden aide with ties to the White House. "They have grown roots and are not moving."
According to sources, many members of Congress are also finding it difficult to communicate with Biden as the triumvirate serves as a wall to the president. To address some of those concerns with stepped-up outreach to lawmakers the White House held Zoom sessions with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Asian Pacific American Caucus on July 12. Even so, some members complained that the conversation was controlled and that questions were stifled.
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Current and former Biden aides also said the "poobahs" often avoid conflicts with the president and enable his sometimes-meandering decision process. Ricchetti and Donilon are the most involved in politics, while Reed, who is nearly always by Biden's side on the road, focuses on policy.
"Steve has been the closest aide to the president since [Biden] left the vice presidency," a person close to Biden's inner circle told the news outlet adding that, "None of them is known for delivering bad news."
Moreover, Biden aides have long been skeptical of Ricchetti's political instincts and organization skills, and now worry about how he's handling this critical moment.
The three were said to be as close to family as staffers can get. The White House is being run by "the family and staff who are effectively family," a group that also includes First Lady Jill Biden's top aide Anthony Bernal and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, according to a person familiar with the West Wing power structure.
"[Biden] has not made changes to the group of advisers he consults, who he trusts, because they've demonstrated the integrity, to tell the truth, and keep the well-being of the American people front of mind," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. (Related: Joe Biden allegedly admitted to key allies that he has only days to salvage his candidacy.)
Democrats blame Biden's advisers for covering up his real cognitive status
CNN reported that more than two dozen of Biden's donors, long-time allies and current and former Democratic officials blame the president's inner circle of advisers and family for hiding from the public his full extent of cognitive decline.
The "core group" has issued statements that have become "painstakingly choreographed daily operations" designed to prevent Biden from being in unscripted settings for extended periods.
"There's this general sense of just, unbelievable holding your breath every time he does an event, every time he's with people," one top Democrat in close touch with Biden's inner circle of advisers told the news outlet. This person added that some of those advisers have privately acknowledged that "This is going to get worse."
The Democrat said that the president's closest advisers have responded to any criticism or concerns expressed about him, including his age and fitness, with: "Everyone who expresses any level of suspicion or contrary views? They call everyone and they beat the s--- out of them and say: 'Stay on message.'"
"It's not like Biden's inner circle didn't know this," one Democratic strategist close to the White House said.
To further steer away from the truth, campaign officials have even rejected celebrity George Clooney's and other donors' characterization of Biden at the Los Angeles fundraiser, with one senior Biden official who was in attendance saying that while the president had been tired that day, he was "animated and extremely present."
White House spokesman Andrew Bates defended the breadth of Biden's engagements with the press, his travels and his record.
"Joe Biden has always said that it is fair for reporters to ask about his age and has always confidently shown his values, agenda, intelligence and determination to the American people," Bates said. "Officials who meet with him frequently have spoken to his sharpness and command."
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