Biden White House urged Democrats to call back Wall Street Journal as it reported on president's mental acuity

The White House urged Democrats interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for a report about President Biden's mental acuity to call the newspaper back and push back on "false" narratives, with one congressman defending the president's sharpness admitting to a reporter he was told to call back.

In a report titled "Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping," the Wall Street Journal outlined several instances where the 81-year-old president made gaffes and displayed low energy in various meetings with lawmakers and officials, citing dozens of interviews with Republicans and Democrats who either participated in meetings with Biden or were briefed on them at the time.

"The White House kept close tabs on some of The Wall Street Journal’s interviews with Democratic lawmakers," the Journal wrote. "After the offices of several Democrats shared with the White House either a recording of an interview or details about what was asked, some of those lawmakers spoke to the Journal a second time and once again emphasized Biden’s strengths."

One Democrat, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., revealed the White House's efforts in an exchange with the Journal.

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"They just, you know, said that I should give you a call back," Meeks told a reporter, referring to the White House.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates told the Journal, "We thought it was important that all perspectives be represented" to push back on what he alleged were "false and politically motivated claims."

Meeks reportedly attended a White House meeting in January focused on providing funding for Ukraine,