JUNE 2025 – Few works of American journalism in 2024 had the impact that the WSJ report on Biden’s decline did. The work was, to put it simply, historic. On June 4th of last year, two reporters – Siobhan Hughes and Annie Linskey – interviewed dozens of Washington officials who’d come in contact with Biden. and the gentle-in-tone conclusion was that “behind closed doors” the president was “showing signs of slipping.” The White House accused the WSJ and political opponents of “partisan politics” in publishing the story, but the truth turned out to be worse than the report suggested. On June 27 of last year Biden was barely coherent in his debate with Trump; less than a month later Biden dropped out of the campaign for reelection. Subsequent revelations – particularly the release of Jake Tapper’s and Alex Thompson’s book “Original Sin” this spring – have only reinforced the value of the WSJ’s journalism.
Hughes and Linskey deserve full recognition for the impact of their work, which was well researched, restrained in tone, and ultimately highly impactful:
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/joe-biden-age-election-2024-8ee15246