Democrats ADMIT Biden is unfit to lead their ticket but insist he's still fine to run the country for now

Democrats are staying coy on how long they've known President Biden's cognitive decline left him unsuited to lead the top of their ticket, though they had glowing praise for his decision to step aside. 

Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the Democratic Caucus, thanked Biden for his 'patriotism in the most challenging of circumstances.'

'His decision highlights the reality that everything is on the line this election because of the threat of Donald Trump,' the California lawmaker told reporters Tuesday. 

Rep. Ted Lieu, Calif., vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, added: 'His selfless act this weekend reminds me of what George Washington did when he voluntarily gave up reelection and put country first.'

But the Democrats were largely silent when asked about how long they've known of the president's decline. 

And they declined to provide insight into how Vice President Kamala Harris may have been engaged in a 'cover-up' to keep quiet Biden's deteriorating condition. 

Democrats are staying coy on how long they've known President Biden's cognitive decline left him unsuited to lead the top of their ticket, though they had glowing praise for his decision to step aside

'We all watched the State of the Union and President Biden gave one the best State of the Union speeches of any president ever,' Lieu told DailyMail.com. 'So I think a number of us were surprised by the debate. So I cannot sort of explain, because I'm not someone that sees the president every day.' 

Aguilar gave a roundabout answer to a question from DailyMail.com on when he'd realized Biden was not suited for the top of the ticket.  

'House Democratic leaders, our job first and foremost is to listen to our members,' the chairman said. 

'Our job was to have a number of conversations with those individuals who express their opinions publicly and those who express their opinions privately, and to convey that to the leader, and to members of the administration.' 

Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, left, and Vice Chair Ted Lieu, right, had high praise for Biden's decision to step aside on Tuesday 

Democrats have insisted Biden is fit to lead the country right now, and for the next six months of his presidency, even if he's not fit to win them the election in November. 

Lieu likened Biden to a retiring NFL quarterback. 'If a quarterback takes a team that like four years ago is not doing well, then now takes them to have a winning victory and then says, you know, I'm gonna retire next year, that doesn't mean the quarterback can't play this year.' 

He flipped the script on aging candidates on Republicans. 

'Donald Trump, he is the oldest person running for president ever. He makes incoherent statements, he forgets people's names, he mixes people up. His cognitive decline is readily apparent, Donald Trump should pass the torch and withdraw from the race.' 

On Sunday Biden sent shockwaves across the country when he caved to mounting pressure to step aside from the top of the Democratic ticket. The decision was revealed in a written statement posted to X. 

But Democrats insist Harris can now close their 'enthusiasm gap' with Republicans. 

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Harris raised $81 million in the 24 hours after Biden dropped out and endorsed her to replace him. 

'That actually shows that there was a major enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans,' Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., told DailyMail.com. 

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., a friend of Biden, said Harris would draw in young voters and black voters, after Biden was losing support from those demographics.

'We have to get young people excited. She's clearly drawing in the African American community,' she said. 

'The people of Flint, my hometown, the enthusiasm for Harris there, the level of enthusiasm that we're seeing I'm not, not hyperbole, this sounds like a Joe Biden comment but hundreds of new volunteers walking into our headquarters across the state of Michigan people who are suddenly really excited,' Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., explained of what he'd seen in the one day since Biden dropped out of the running.