Bill Clinton defends Biden's mental state while questioning staff's pre-debate scheduling decisions

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Former President Bill Clinton told "The View" on Thursday that former President Joe Biden had good judgment and a clear mind during their interactions, but said reporting on the president and those around him should be given attention. 

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Clinton if he gave any credence to reporting from several books about Biden's decline and what led to him dropping out of the 2024 race.

"Well, I think you have to pay attention to them, but all I can say is whenever I was around him, his mind was clear, his judgment was good, and he was on top of his briefs," Clinton said, as liberal co-host Joy Behar added, "That's right."

Clinton then pointed fingers at Biden's staff and his schedule in the days that led up to the June debate against Donald Trump that changed the course of the 2024 race. 

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"Look at that debate, for example. What happened in the 10 days before his debate, and what were the White House staff thinking? He went to Europe and back twice, and then he went to California once. And he was 80 years old. What the heck is he doing that for?" Clinton asked. 

Clinton acknowledged there were a lot of questions about Biden's health while in office, but said, "we should spend more time thinking about the future."

The latest book to be released on Biden and his White House, "Original Sin" by Axios' Alex Thompson and CNN's Jake Tapper, details efforts by Biden's inner circle to cover up signs of mental and physical decline by shielding him from the public and misleading political allies. 

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Clinton was also pressed about Biden's decline during an interview on Sunday. 

"Did you ever have a moment with him where you thought maybe he was unfit to run for president?" "CBS Sunday Morning" anchor Tracy Smith asked. 

"No. I thought he was a good president," Clinton said. "The only concern I thought he had to deal with was, could anybody do that job until they were 86? And we'd had several long talks. I had never seen him and walked away thinking he can't do this anymore. He was always on top of his brief."

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"You never saw any cognitive decline?" Smith followed up.

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"I didn't know anything about any of this. And I haven't read the book. I saw President Biden not very long ago, and I thought he was in good shape. But the book didn't register with me because I never saw him that way," Clinton answered.