EDITORIAL: Was there a whitewash at the White House?

While much of the world was consumed last week by the high-profile bromance bust-up between U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, more consequential questions are being raised about the former White House resident. 

Increasingly, questions are being asked about what went on in former president Joe Biden’s White House, how far his cognitive health had declined and who was running his administration? 

His former press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, announced last week she’s leaving the Democratic Party to become an Independent. 

Some former colleagues say this may all be a self-serving move by Jean-Pierre, seeking publicity as she is set to release her book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines. 

It’s expected that the book will concentrate on the three weeks around Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate outing. 

Meanwhile, a book by Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios has been damning of the Biden family for not allowing the former president to retire after one term, considering his age and deteriorating health. 

“Biden, his family and his team let their self-interest and fear of another Trump term justify trying to put an at times addled old man in the Oval Office for four more years,” Tapper and Thompson said. “What was the extent of it? Was it a cover-up? 

Was it a conspiracy?” 

Biden was recently diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. While that is a tragedy and we have nothing but concern for the former president, when one is the leader of the free world, one’s health becomes everyone’s concern. When questions were raised about Biden’s mental capacity, they were dismissed as fearmongering. 

His office now says his last known screening for prostate cancer was in 2014 and he had not been diagnosed with the disease before a recent test. 

The world became a chaotic and dangerous place during Biden’s tenure, with wars in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Rightly or wrongly, the world looks to the U.S. for leadership. 

Who was in charge? Biden himself said he would be a “transitional” president and only serve one term. Why did that change? And how can we avoid such a crisis in the future?