Joe Biden's staff hid his apparent mental decline from the very start of his presidency, according to an explosive report – even though he planned to seek re-election just five months ago.
Mr Biden, who scrapped a second tilt at the White House after a disastrous debate against Donald Trump in June, was shielded from the public because of his poor mental acuity, the report claimed.
Staff cancelled meetings when Mr Biden was having a "bad day", restricted his reading material and limited his meetings with top officials, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.
The Democrat, 82, has long been dogged by questions about his fitness for offices after several shaky moments – but staff have publicly backed him.
Now, after his vice-president Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump in November, Mr Biden's spell in the White House is fizzling out.
One Democrat official said: “In conversations that I’m having, they don’t even mention the president. It’s kind of sad.
“It feels like Trump is president already," they told the Times.
Robert Hur, the special counsel who interviewed Mr Biden over classified documents he had kept after his vice-presidency, called him "an elderly man with a poor memory".
Staff also had to instruct Mr Biden on scenarios that many would find simple, such as leaving a stage after a speech.
Mr Biden was shielded from top officials even during matters of international geopolitical importance, such as the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
A scheduled national security briefing was cancelled because the president was enduring a "bad day".
Mr Hur's report, which was made public earlier this year, found that Mr Biden "wilfully" retained and disclosed highly classified materials when he was a private citizen.
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It cited "significant limitations" with his memory, including his struggles to recall when his son Beau died, which would contribute to a decision against charging him.
Mr Biden said after the report was released: "I know what the hell I'm doing! My memory has not gotten worse. My memory is fine. Take a look at what I have done since becoming president."
But he then mixed up the leaders of Mexico and Egypt when discussing Gaza.
"I think as you know initially, the president of Mexico, El-Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate," he said.
Mr Biden's term ends on January 20, when Mr Trump takes over the White House.