President Joe Biden declared ‘fit for duty’ by White House doctor despite concerns about his age

The oldest president in US history has undergone a second full physical exam since taking office, but a former White House physician warns Joe Biden needs a cognitive exam.

The oldest president in US history “remains fit for duty,” according to his doctor, despite a former White House physician warning Joe Biden needs a cognitive exam.

Mr Biden’s health was given the all-clear on Friday (AEDT) after the 80-year-old’s second full physical exam since winning the 2020 presidential election.

“President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency, to include those as chief executive, head of state and commander in chief,” Dr Kevin O’Connor said in his written report.

But Barack Obama and Donald Trump’s physician Dr Ronny Jackson criticised Dr O’Connor for not speaking publicly about Mr Biden’s health, as he did when he served the former presidents.

He told the New York Post the “objective data is not going to be good”, given Mr Biden had been plagued by embarrassing gaffes and memory lapses while in office, including appearing to forget Scott Morrison’s name when the AUKUS pact was unveiled.

“Kevin O’Connor owes it to the country to step up to the plate right now and stand up before the press and answer all the hard questions,” said Dr Jackson, who is now a Republican congressman.

US President Joe Biden arrives at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for his physical exam. Picture: AFP

“They are going to be asked, ‘Did he get a cognitive exam done?’ The answer is going to be no because either they’re not going to do a cognitive exam or they’re going to do one and not let the American people know what the results were.”

Mr Biden is planning to seek re-election next year, meaning he would be 86 by the end of his second term if he was successful.

Dr O’Connor’s report said he was successfully managing underlying conditions including non-valvular atrial fibrillation, a heart problem which increases his risk of a stroke.

He said Mr Biden was “completely asymptomatic” and his heart demonstrated “excellent functional capacity”.

Dr O’Connor also said a team of experts had concluded that Mr Biden’s “stiffened gait” was a result of general “wear and tear” on his spine.

US President Joe Biden leaves Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Picture: AFP

“An extremely detailed neurological exam was again reassuring in that there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis,” Dr O’Connor said in his report.

In the check-up, a small lesion was excised from the chest of Mr Biden – who spent a lot of time in the sun when he was younger – and sent for a biopsy.

Mr Obama’s former personal physician Dr David Scheiner had earlier also cautioned that the public was “not going to learn anything” from Mr Biden’s latest check-up.

“They sugar-coat these things,” he told the Washington Examiner.

“It worries me that he is ageing. If I look at him, he’s not a young 80.”

A Washington Post-ABC News poll this month found 58 per cent of Democrats would prefer someone other than the President as their party’s nominee in 2024.