Tom Barrett says European leaders worried about Biden's capacity long before election exit

From JSOnline:

Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Former U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg Tom Barrett said concerns among European leaders over former President Joe Biden's capacity to carry out the duties of U.S. President materialized a year before Biden ultimately ended his reelection bid.

Barrett, a former longtime mayor of Milwaukee who was appointed to the ambassadorship by Biden in 2022, said for the first time Sunday that he shared those concerns.

"There was a feeling that his heart was in the right place, that he wanted to maintain this strong relationship, but there was a lot of concern about whether, physically, he was up to the job," Barrett said in an interview with WISN-TV.

Barrett returned to Milwaukee last month after a three-year tenure as America's top diplomat in Luxembourg. 

Biden, 82, faced public calls to drop his bid for a second term in June after a disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump. During the debate, Biden's voice was hoarse and raspy as he stumbled over words. At one point, the former president appeared to lose his train of thought.

Barrett said he did not watch the debate because of his concerns over Biden's physical state but did not witness any stumbles in person.

"To this moment I haven't watched that debate because I just had concerns," Barrett said. "Now I'll say that the interactions that I had with him during my time as ambassador, which were few — but two or three — he was sharp as a tack."

"So, clearly, there was something that was going on there. I did not sense in the one-on-one interactions that there was an issue, but there may have been."

Barrett said his job was made easier once Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and was replaced with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

"In some ways it made it easier because that was off the table," Barrett said when asked if concerns among European leaders over Biden made his job as ambassador difficult. "And with Vice President Harris in the race, I think that there was hope and there was enthusiasm for her, quite honestly, in Europe, that she could win the race."

"There was always this fear with President Trump," Barrett said. "The fear was there, and it was not below the surface."

Barrett said last week in an appearance at the Rotary Club of Milwaukee that European leaders are concerned their relationships with the U.S. are "fraying" after the election of Trump.

Mary Spicuzza of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/24/tom-barrett-says-european-leaders-worried-about-joe-bidens-capacity/80016961007/

We traded in a senile president for an insane one.