‘I Have A Confession To Make’: Longtime CNN Host Apologizes For His Coverage Of Biden

Go to Article

Former CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza expressed remorse Thursday for failing to properly investigate President Joe Biden’s mental and physical health during his tenure at the network. Cillizza’s comments come as new revelations emerge about the Biden administration’s alleged efforts to conceal the president’s declining condition.

Cillizza admitted that his coverage of Biden during the president’s first term fell short. Speaking openly on X (formerly Twitter), he detailed how he had brushed aside concerns about Biden’s mental acuity, particularly as Republicans and voters raised questions leading up to the 2020 election and beyond.

“As a reporter, I have a confession to make,” Cillizza said. “I should have pushed harder, earlier, for more information about Joe Biden’s mental and physical well-being and any signs of decline. So let me explain. Joe Biden was president from 2020 to 2024. I worked at CNN, 2020 to 2022. People would regularly—Republicans would regularly ping me and say, ‘Why don’t you ask more questions of Joe Biden and how he’s doing?’ He’s 76, 77, 78 years old. And I would sort of brush them off.”

Cillizza claimed that at the time, there was no “obvious evidence” of Biden’s decline despite growing public skepticism. “Yeah, he moves a little slower, he talks a little slower, but there’s no evidence that he’s declining,” Cillizza recounted. He went on to describe how Biden’s team fiercely resisted any scrutiny, framing such questions as “age shaming.”

WATCH:

Cillizza’s admission coincides with a bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal published late Wednesday. The article details a systematic effort by Biden’s advisors to tightly control his public appearances, carefully manage his schedule, and shield concerns about his physical and cognitive health from public view. According to the report, close aides routinely intervened to adjust the president’s environment to make him appear more vigorous during press conferences. One incident described by insiders involved Biden’s team altering lighting and angles to minimize visible fatigue. The same insiders revealed multiple undisclosed health episodes over the past year—information that was intentionally withheld or downplayed.

The Journal further referenced Biden’s 2020 campaign, when Jill Biden often outpaced her husband on the trail. Michael LaRosa, Jill Biden’s press secretary at the time, noted her relentless effort during Iowa events. However, LaRosa’s comments reportedly led to tension with Anthony Bernal, then Jill Biden’s chief of staff, who quickly sought to control the narrative.

Cillizza acknowledged that pressure from the White House—and his own hesitancy—led to a lack of critical reporting on Biden’s health.

“The White House and the people around Joe Biden were absolutely adamant that suggesting anything—asking the question about whether he was in some physical, mental or both decline—was offensive,” Cillizza explained. “How could you? It’s age-shaming. And I think that impacted me at some level… I didn’t really push on it, if I’m being honest.”

Cillizza went on to say that after his departure from CNN in 2022, he began to view Biden’s age and fitness for office with greater scrutiny. “Once I left CNN, and once it became a little bit more clear to me about Biden’s age, I think I did write pretty regularly and talk pretty regularly about how I wasn’t sure that this guy was up to it,” Cillizza said.

Biden’s disastrous June 2024 debate performance against then-former President Donald Trump only intensified public concerns, prompting even media allies to acknowledge what many voters had already suspected. “Obviously, after the June 27th debate, everybody, including me, was writing and talking about it,” Cillizza concluded.

Critics were quick to respond to Cillizza’s comments, calling the admission “too little, too late.” Meghan McCain, former co-host of The View and daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, took aim at Cillizza in a scathing social media post.

“When I say this is too little too late, I mean this is absolutely pathetically too little too late,” McCain wrote. “There was no bigger and more obsessive ‘McCain truther’ regarding my dad’s age when he ran in 2008 (when he was 71, mind you) than Chris. He ignored Biden because he’s a hack.”

Cillizza’s remarks—alongside the Wall Street Journal report—have further fueled frustration among voters who feel misled by legacy media outlets. For years, concerns about Biden’s fitness for office were dismissed as partisan attacks. Now, critics argue, the media’s delayed acknowledgment amounts to an abdication of journalistic responsibility.

(FREE REPORT: Take Advantage Of Trump’s New “IRS Loophole” ASAP)



Comment on this Article Via Your Disqus Account