Former President Joe Biden’s senior advisers convinced the then-president to take the stage for a debate against Donald Trump in the spring of 2024 on the grounds that an early debate would provide the incumbent a chance to showcase his “strength,” according to a leaked memo that reveals how Biden’s inner circle inadvertently laid the ground work for his campaign’s downfall.

Biden’s advisers wrote him a memo in April 2024 laying out their proposal for two presidential debates against Trump, one to be held in June and the other in September shortly after Labor Day. The memo includes an odd capitalization scheme apparently meant to attract the elderly president’s attention.

“By holding the first debate in the spring, YOU will be able to reach the widest audience possible before we are deep in the summer months with the conventions, Olympics, and family vacations taking precedence,” the memo reads.

“In addition, the earlier YOU are able to debate the better, so that the American people can see YOU standing next to Trump and showing the strength of YOUR leadership, compared to Trump’s weakness and chaos,” the memo adds.

Biden’s advisers also noted that a June 2024 debate would coincide with high-profile Supreme Court rulings on abortion and Trump’s presidential immunity case. At the time, abortion was a top issue because of the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

The memo was first reported Monday morning in Politico Playbook. Political reporters Tyler Pager, Josh Dawsey, and Isaac Arnsdorf obtained the memo while doing reporting for their new book on the 2024 election.

Biden ended up debating Trump in June 2024 and his performance did not have the intended affect. Biden repeatedly stumbled over his words and rambled incoherently on national television, making his mental decline an undeniable issue for the Democratic Party and its allies.

Democrats swiftly revolted against Biden following the disastrous debate, eventually prompting him to drop out of the presidential race and endorse former Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee. Harris lost convincingly to Trump in November and Republicans retook the Senate with a 53-47 majority to put Democrats in the political wilderness.

Long before the debate, special counsel Robert Hur and many conservative commentators had observed Biden’s memory issues and worsening cognitive abilities. It took the debate for Democrats to hold a public reckoning on Biden’s fitness for the presidency.

The extent to which Biden’s aides hid his mental decline is the subject of another political book, Original Sin by Axios reporter Alex Thompson and CNN host Jake Tapper. The bombshell book details Biden’s cognitive struggles and how his “politburo” of senior advisers covered it up.

Congressional Republicans have launched multiple investigations into Biden’s mental decline and who was making decisions at the White House. Later this week, the House Oversight Committee is interviewing Biden’s personal physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, for closed-doors testimony for the panel’s ongoing investigation.