Joe Biden declared ’fit for duty, no signs of stroke or Parkinsons’
Joe Biden’s doctor has said he has no new health worries with no neurological signs of illnesses, White House says doctors decided he didn’t need a cognitive test.
US President Joe Biden remains “fit for duty” with no new health worries, his doctor has declared after the 81-year-old’s last medical ahead of an election in which his age is a key issue.
The keenly awaited annual examination at the Walter Reed military medical center outside Washington came just weeks after a special counsel report that portrayed him as elderly and forgetful.
“He continues to be fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations,” White House doctor Kevin O’Connor said in a summary.
The only new issue this year was Biden’s use of a machine to keep his airways clear at night and reduce sleep disruption, along with an emergency dental procedure, Dr O’Connor said after the examination.
Mr Biden suffers from a range of minor physical issues including a stiff walk due to wear and tear in his spine but there was no significant change in them from last year, the report said.
The doctor also said a detailed neurological exam showed no findings that would indicate any neurological disorders like a stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease.
The President remains on medication for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, high cholesterol, gastroesophageal reflux and seasonal allergies.
The President, who faces a likely rematch with 77-year-old Donald Trump in November, himself joked that the only concern was that doctors “think I look too young.” “Everything’s great,” he told reporters at the White House.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Mr Biden not taking a cognitive test, saying it was the assessment of his doctors that the President did not need one.
“The president passes again a cognitive test every day,” Jean-Pierre told reporters, citing the domestic and international political issues he dealt with. “This is a very rigorous job.”
The previously unscheduled physical follows months of increasing speculation about the President’s cognitive ability following a seemingly rising rate of gaffes and appearances of general confusion in public that has prompted at least one Republican congressman to insist the president be forcibly removed on mental grounds.
The president’s visit came hours before veteran Republican senator Mitch McConnell, 82, announced he would step down as leader of the Senate in November, following his own spate of health scares after the Kentucky powerbroker fell down stairs in March last year, spending weeks in hospital.
Congressman Ken Buck from Colorado on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) demanded the removal of the president via the never-before-used 25th amendment of the US constitution, which allows a majority of the president’s cabinet and the Vice President to remove a president on health or mental grounds.
“It’s clear – from both the Hur report and repeated public instances – that Biden no longer has the mental stamina needed to serve as president,” Mr Buck, who voted against the establishment of an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden against the wishes of his Republican colleagues, said in a statement.
“The societal challenges and security threats our country faces are innumerable and require a chief executive with both strong mental and physical faculties,” Mr Buck.
Special Counsel Robert Hur issued a highly damning assessment of the president earlier this month, suggesting he couldn’t remember when he was vice President or when his son Beau had died, based on interviews conducted in October related to whether or not he had mishandled classified documents.
“Mr Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Mr Hur’s report said, triggering a politically disastrous press conference where the president sought to defend his cognitive state as he confused the presidents of Mexico and Egypt.
The president declined to be interviewed during the Super Bowl halftime a few days later – an opportunity for an relatively easy short interview few presidents had ever declined – fanning further concern Mr Biden couldn’t handle impromptu questions and might be unable to debate political opponents as the 2024 election neared.
Days later White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre on 12th February pushed back against suggestions the president should take a cognitive test, referring to the results of his physical examination last year where Dr Kevin O’Connor had given Mr Biden the all clear.
“When we have meetings with him and his staff he is constantly pushing us, trying to get more information, and so that has been my experience with this president,“ she added, insisting Mr Biden was “sharp” and “on top of things”.
Surveys of Americans regularly point to widespread frustration with the rising age of America’s political leaders, which included the late senator Dianne Feinstein, who died in office last year at age 90.
Comedian John Stewart, who returned to host the Daily Show this month after a nine year hiatus, playfully asked last week in his first show whether the White House would release this footage
“If you’re telling us behind the scenes he’s sharp and full of energy and really in control you should film that,” he joked in a segment that poked fun at both Donald Trump and Mr Biden.
John Stewart weighs in on INDECISION 2024
— Blue Owl (@BlueOwlHoots) February 14, 2024
W.H. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refutes Biden’s need for cognitive testing after today’s confirmation that Biden will be the first president in American History refusing a cognitive test as part of his up coming physical exam. pic.twitter.com/jdHZl5laN4
Mockery of the president’s seeming mental decline reached the TV screens of a key NATO ally this week, after Fratelli di Crozza, an Italian comedy show, savaged the president’s lacklustre public performances in two separate skits that ricocheted around the world.
NEW - Italian TV aired a skit mocking Joe Biden
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 27, 2024
pic.twitter.com/ES2CQlloly
On Monday night the president was interviewed by late night TV comedian Seth Meyers in New York, which included a defence of his age and criticism of Mr Trump.
“They told us we couldn’t get ‘em done ’cause things were so divided and, but I think everything’s everything we’ve gotten done. He’s just friendly state he wants to do away with, he gets elected and I really think his views on where to take America are older than … anyway,” he explained to Meyers.
JUST IN: Italian TV mocks President Joe Biden. WATCH pic.twitter.com/B2YrT3wW0C
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) February 25, 2024
The president’s check up came as his son, Hunter, attended congress on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) to give a closed door deposition at the request of a Republican-led House of Representatives committee which has been investigating allegations of Biden family corruption.
The results of the president’s physical will be made available later today, the White House said.
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