Mike Pompeo, secretary of state and CIA director in the Trump administration, said President Joe Biden has reached a state of cognitive decline.
He cited a report Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal regarding the president.
The Journal reported that Biden’s cognitive decline has become obvious and concerning to high-ranking congressional lawmakers, and that he increasingly relies on cheat sheets in meetings and at times has closed his eyes for so long that people wondered if he drifted off.
Pompeo said Tuesday night that Biden, at 81 and the oldest sitting U.S. president, has clearly shown "his faculties are not all with him."
"These aren’t just private conversations where we can see that President Biden is no longer up to the task of being the commander in chief and keeping America secure, but we see this in the public speaking that he does as well," said Pompeo, according to The Hill, which cited an interview Pompeo gave with Fox News. "He can’t follow a teleprompter — like, basic skill sets that every leader of the free world needs to have.
"We can see it in how he interacts with people. These moments that just look like he’s getting older and that his faculties are not all with him.
"I’m counting on our commander in chief to have the skill set, the mental acuity to actually deliver for America, and I think we can all see with our own eyes — we don’t have to rely on The Wall Street Journal or anybody else to see that there is this real risk."
Pompeo said Biden’s mental state poses an "enormous risk" for the U.S. with foreign adversaries such as China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran. Each could be thinking this is the time to take advantage.
"Not only will our allies see this, and I’m sure many of them have seen it already, but our adversaries can sense it as well," Pompeo said. "I’ve been traveling a bunch these last few weeks, all over the world. Leaders across the world can see this, as well. They can see that when they interact with President Biden, that he is not able to follow the line of the conversation entirely."
Democrats rallied to Biden’s defense and took issue with the Journal’s report, with lawmakers such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California and Sens. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Patty Murray of Washington claiming they were interviewed for the story but their quotes in support of Biden were not used.
"Many of us spent time with @WSJ to share on the record our first-hand experiences with @POTUS, where we see his wisdom, experience, strength, and strategic thinking," Pelosi posted Wednesday on X. "Instead, the Journal ignored testimony by Democrats, focused on attacks by Republicans, and printed a hit piece."