Take cognitive test or drop out of 2024 race: Ex-WH doctor to Biden

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 May 2023 16:49

Biden will turn 86 before finishing a second term in office if he runs for reelection in 2024 and wins.

President Biden announced that he will run for the presidency on April 25, 2023. (AP)

Former White House doctor and current Republican Congressman Ronny Jackson is demanding that President Biden take a cognitive test or drop out of the 2024 race.

Prior requests for Biden to take a cognitive test were sponsored by Jackson, including one in July 2022 that was backed by more than 50 House Republicans. The most recent letter was released now that Biden declared that he will run for reelection.

"We believe that, regardless of gender, age, or political party, all presidents should document and demonstrate sound mental abilities… Although [Biden has] undergone two physical exams during [his] presidency, one on 19 November 2021, and another on 16 February 2023, there is no indication [he has] had any cognitive assessment, or if [he had], such results were concealed from the public," the Republicans wrote in their letter.

The letter acknowledged that Biden has "failed to respond” to any previous disclosure on the issue, and rebuffed the demands of more than 50 Members of Congress to “take a cognitive exam".

“Over the past two years, public appearances where you shuffle your feet, trip when you walk, slur your words, forget names, lose your train of thought, and appear momentarily confused have become more of a common occurrence. These incidents are so common and noticeable that if you search ‘Biden gaffes’ online, more than 14 million results appear," the letter read.

The GOP group referenced a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll that revealed 57% of people "do not believe you are mentally fit to serve as President or have doubts about your mental fitness."

The Republicans emphasized that Americans had the right to "absolute confidence in their President and know that he or she can perform their duties as Head of State and Commander in Chief" in their closing statement.

In short, the letter urged Biden to take a cognitive test, citing his advanced age, public gaffes, and surveys that suggest many Americans have concerns about the president's mental competence. According to information provided to Fox News, additional Republicans have till Wednesday to sign the letter.

Last year in November, Biden turned 80. By taking the presidential oath at age 78, he became the office's oldest-ever White House occupant. He will turn 86 before finishing a second term in office if he runs for reelection in 2024 and wins.

The president previously stated that, if he had any health issues, he would be honest with the American people and let them know about them.

A collection of Biden’s endless gaffe series:

On July 16, 2022, the US President honored the "selfishness" of the US soldiers who fought corporate wars in the Middle East. Biden, who has been under large-scale scrutiny from his party for his unfitness for the presidency and senility, quickly corrected "selfishness" with "selflessness" in accordance with what was written on the paper he was reading from.

Many tongue-in-cheek, as well as disappointing instances have happened in recent memory.

Biden, reading off a teleprompter read what he shouldn't have read: "end of quote," and "repeat the line" - and, he actually repeated the line.

In late June 2022, a similar incident that instigated political embarrassment was at the NATO Summit, when he declared that "Ukrainians will not defeat Ukrainians!"

During the conference, Biden also replaced Sweden with Switzerland, as the leader said he welcomed Switzerland into NATO, before realizing he confused the two and corrected his mistake, saying NATO's expansion has gotten him anxious.

In July 2021, Biden forgot a congressman’s name in an address, and then got confused about whether a guest’s mother is attending the event and asked if she was in the crowd.

At the time, the New York Times wrote a piece on how Biden's age, 79, with his deteriorating health conditions, are making him increasingly unfit for the presidency.

Many Americans believe Biden is too old, as per the polls, and several Democratic strategists do not believe he should run for office again.

As a matter of fact, the White House has been forced to retract some of his impromptu remarks, such as when he threatened a military response if China attacked Taiwan or said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot be in office".

Because the US President seems to not know how to act, his aides decided to hand him a cheat sheet! Mistakenly, the President held out the sheet prepared by his aides in one instance urging the prone-to-mistake leader of the free world to "take YOUR seat" and limit his remarks to "2 minutes".