New Delhi, May 5 -- Former US President Joe Biden's top staff privately discussed the idea of having him take a cognitive test early in 2024, amid growing concerns about his age and mental sharpness, according to a forthcoming book by three political journalists.

The book, 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, is co-authored by a New York Times journalist and details behind-the-scenes discussions within the Biden camp.

"Biden's aides were confident that he would pass a cognitive test," the book says, according to the New York Times. "But they worried that the mere fact of his taking one would raise new questions about his mental abilities."

The debate over the cognitive exam reportedly occurred in Febru...