It turns out that Joe Biden’s physical deterioration was so apparent that his aides had discussed putting him in a wheelchair, but they knew if they did that he’d lose the election. So they refused.

Even Biden’s doctor reportedly quipped “that Biden’s staff members were trying to kill him, while he was trying to keep him alive.”

This, according to Axios:

Joe Biden’s physical deterioration was so severe in 2023 and 2024 that advisers privately discussed the possibility he’d need to use a wheelchair if he won re-election, CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson write in their new book, “Original Sin,” out May 20.

The discussions reflected the extent of the president’s declining health — particularly the significant degeneration of his spine — and his aides’ alarm over it as Biden sought a second term at age 81.

The conversations also reveal the White House’s determination to conceal the reality of Biden’s condition, at the risk of his own health, while he faced a tough re-election bid against Donald Trump.

The book is based on interviews with more than 200 people, mostly Democratic insiders, with knowledge of the events that unfolded during the final two years of Biden’s presidency. Almost all of the interviews took place after the 2024 election.

“Biden’s physical deterioration — most apparent in his halting walk — had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn’t do so until after the election,” the authors write.

Biden aides believed it was politically untenable to have Biden use a wheelchair during his re-election campaign.

“Given Biden’s age, [his physician Kevin O’Connor] also privately said that if he had another bad fall, a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a difficult recovery,” the authors report.

Biden’s team had increasing fears of a fall after he tripped over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy in June 2023. Aides then began taking many more precautions to avoid a repeat before the November 2024 election.

They tried to figure out shorter walking paths, began insisting on handrails for steps up to the stage at his appearances, had him wear sneakers more often, changed his visual briefings before events to ensure he knew every step he was expected to take, and guided him more carefully through the movements.

O’Connor had long privately expressed concern about the toll the presidency was taking on Biden’s health.

The doctor often argued with Biden’s political officials to get more rest time into the president’s schedule.

O’Connor sometimes quipped that Biden’s staff members were trying to kill him, while he was trying to keep him alive.

Throughout 2024, Biden aides told reporters that the president’s halting walk was partly the result of him fracturing his foot in November 2020, and then refusing to consistently wear his walking boot. In short, they said, Biden was being undone by his own vigor.

But that contradicted what O’Connor had publicly reported at the time.

After Biden wore a walking boot for 10 weeks in late 2020 and early 2021, O’Connor noted that “both small fractures of his foot are completely healed” and that “this injury has healed as expected.”

O’Connor repeated in his public health summaries that Biden had “mild post-­fracture foot arthritis,” but focused largely on “significant spinal arthritis” to explain the changes in the president’s gait.

I’d say this is ‘unreal’, but none of us are surprised by this. We all knew they were lying about his health problems. The only thing I didn’t realize is that they were putting his own health at risk with the cover-up. This is the ugly side of politics, and why his family suddenly began showing up as part of his White House meetings and what not.