The physical decline of Joe Biden prior to his reelection bid last year led to his aides considering rolling him out in a wheelchair.

That’s according to the explosive new book Original Sin, co-written by CNN journalist Jake Tapper. As per TMZ, the books pages include behind-the-scenes chats that reveal the extent to which Biden’s team were prepared to hide the former president’s frailty.

Biden infamously dropped out of the presidential race following months of speculation regarding his cognitive and physical capabilities. He was replaced by Kamala Harris, who would go on to lose the election to Donald Trump.

Biden in a wheelchair

Yet there was a time when it looked as though Biden, now 82, was set to ignore the criticism and go head-to-head with Trump a second time, this in spite of footage suggesting his health was in rapid decline.

According to Original Sin, that meant that his team were left scrambling as to how they would hide the issues he was facing from the world. The answer some aides put forward was to place Biden in a wheelchair, though Tapper and coauthor Alex Thompson claim they later changed their minds as it was considered a political no-go in the midst of campaigning for reelection.

The idea, they say, was to be shelved until after the results.

TMZ claim that Biden’s doctor Kevin O’Connor, however, warned that if the then-president had another nasty fall, a wheelchair might be the only option for him moving forward.

Cognitive decline

Only a week ago did Biden himself deny that he had suffered from a cognitive decline while in office. Speaking on an episode of ABC’s The View last Thursday, he refuted the allegations.