‘Everyone can see something is wrong’: Former White House doctor slams ‘alarming’ Biden physical report after it made no mention of his declining cognitive health and demands ‘cover-up’ ends
- US Rep. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor who served the Trump and Obama administrations, called Joe Biden’s latest health exam a ‘cover up’
- Jackson claimed it was evident that Biden was suffering from a mental health ‘decline,’ as the president has experienced a slew of public gaffes
- Despite Jackson and other health experts’ concerns, the White House physician said Biden was a ‘healthy’ and ‘vigorous’ 80-year-old who is fit for office
A former White House doctor criticized Joe Biden’s latest physical report as ‘alarming,’ saying it makes no mention of his ‘declining’ mental health.
US Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served the Trump and Obama administrations, said Biden’s latest health report was nothing but a ‘cover-up’ after the president’s physical concluded that he was a ‘healthy’ and ‘vigorous’ 80-year-old who is fit for office.
‘The majority of Americans can see that Biden’s mental health is in total decline, yet there is no transparency from the White House on what’s going on, if anything, to address this issue and his inability to do his job,’ Jackson told Fox News.
The latest round of warnings over the president’s health comes after other White House physicians warned that Biden’s results were likely ‘sugarcoated’ to hide any health concerns he might have.
US Rep. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor who served the Trump and Obama administrations, called Joe Biden’s latest health exam a ‘cover up’
Jackson claimed it was evident that Biden was suffering from a mental health ‘decline,’ as many expressed concerns over the 80-year-old’s health and performance as president. Biden has suffered a slew of gaffes in his presidency, including at his latest State of the Union speech
Biden, America’s oldest ever commander-in-chief, has faced serious criticism about his mental capacity following a series of high-profile gaffes, including misremembering names and dates, and even failing to properly shake hands with other world leaders.
His latest gaffe included stumbling in his State of the Union speech earlier this month when he called US Sen. Chuck Schumer the ‘minority leader’ – when he is in the majority.
The president’s new exam included a routine physical and neurological check, which found nothing ‘consistent with any cerebellar or central neurological disorder.’
The physical revealed that Biden had a lesion removed from his chest and still suffers from a stiff gait, but remained overwhelmingly positive as White House doctor Kevin O’Connor gave the president a clean bill of health.
Jackson claimed that the report only ‘further confirms that this administration is still adamant about concealing the truth.’
He told Fox: ‘Nowhere in the report was there mention of Biden’s deteriorating mental health.’
‘This is alarming, considering I have already sent three letters to the White House demanding that Biden receive a cognitive test and that the results be made public, all of which have been ignored.
‘Everyone can see something is wrong — the cover-up needs to end,’ he added.
Jackson’s concerns come as both Republicans and Democrats express anxiety and worry about the president’s age, who would be 82 at the time of his second inauguration if he were to win a re-election bid.
White House physician Colonel Kevin O’Connor provided an update on Biden’s health amid concerns over his age as he prepares to announce a 2024 run for president
President Joe Biden is a ‘healthy’ and ‘vigorous’ 80-year-old who is fit for office, his doctor said after his annual physical on Thursday at Walter Reed
Questions have emerged both during Trump and Biden’s presidency over the two presidents’ mental fitness for office, concerns that were only heightened considering they are both senior citizens.
Following a routine medical exam in November 2021, Biden’s doctor declared him ‘fit for duty’ in a press release on the evaluation, which included a colonoscopy and ‘extremely detailed neurological exam.’
It was the first public medical report of Biden’s presidency and Dr. O’Connor addressed a couple of items that had become topics of public discourse, including his increased coughing and whether his stiff gait was indicative of neurological issues.
‘There were no findings that which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder,’ the doctor noted at the time.
Democrats remain secretly concerned, but are reluctant to raise questions over Biden’s fitness for office.
‘Nobody wants to be the one to do something that would undermine the chances of a Democratic victory in 2024,’ Minnesota Democratic Representative Dean Phillips told Politico.
Newly announced 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley is demanding that all politicians over the age of 75 be required to undergo ‘mandatory mental competency tests.’
A person involved in the annual physical told CNN that concerns over Biden’s age had become ‘omnipresent.’
Democrats, according to the CNN report, have increased anxiety that Trump, even though only a few years younger, will come off as more energetic by keeping with the pace of two or three events every day.
More than a dozen Democratic operatives expressed this feeling, including prominent figures within the party privately questioning Biden’s ability to keep up with an aggressive campaign travel schedule.
If Biden wins a second term, he will leave office at the age of 86.
Will Biden’s physical results be ‘sugarcoated’? President, 80, due to get annual White House medical TODAY – but doctors say it won’t address main concerns about his memory or cognition
President Joe Biden is due to get his annual White House physical today – but doctors warn the results could be ‘sugarcoated’.
America’s oldest ever commander-in-chief, 80, has faced serious criticism about his mental capacity following a series of high-profile gaffes, including misremembering names and dates, and even failing to properly shake hands with other world leaders.
The examination will include a routine physical, colonoscopy and neurological exam.
But some doctors, including former physician to President Barack Obama Ronny Jackson, have asked for a cognitive exam to be performed too – and for the results to be made public.
Others fear that the results of the examination will not be fully disclosed, and any health issues the President is facing will either not be revealed or downplayed to the public.
President Biden walks out of the White House as he heads to his annual physical exam at Walter Reed Medical Center on Thursday morning
Dr. David Scheiner, ex-President Barack Obama’s former doctor told the Washington Examiner ahead of the physical exam he expected the White House to ‘sugarcoat’ it.
‘You’re not going to learn anything. They sugarcoat these things,’ he said.
‘By the time he completes [a second term], he’ll be 86 years old; I don’t care if he’s in perfect health now,’ Scheiner continued.
‘I don’t care if he’s in perfect health now — which, I can’t believe he’s in perfect health. He’s had too many things in his past history.
He added: ‘It worries me that he is aging. If I look at him, he’s not a young 80.’
On Biden’s gait, he said: ‘the gait is not an insignificant factor’, adding it was ‘a peek into the whole physical, mental capability of a person’.
Former President Barack Obama’s physician Dr. David Scheiner that he expects the White House to ‘sugar coat’ the results of Biden’s physical exam
Dr. Scheiner said: ‘The one thing they don’t check is a careful examination of the mind. I don’t think any candidate wants it. They’re afraid they might find something.’
Meanwhile, Dr. Stuart Fischer, an emergency care physician in New York, told DailyMail.com that one of the problems with the president’s annual physical exam is that it’s ‘not too specific’.
‘The most important things would be first of all the blood tests. Second, this is a touchy subject, a urine analysis.
‘Someone of his age could have prostate problems. There’s a blood test called PSA that’s very helpful. A cardiogram definitely. And depending on how many years have elapsed, a chest X-ray.
‘These are the basics of an annual physical exam. There are other blood tests, but they’re a little too esoteric. For example, thyroid tests, certain vitamin levels, like vitamin D, which is actually very important.
‘And it depends on the extent of the heightened scrutiny he’s in. Other tests, for example, an echocardiogram which I’ve had, which is a routine test, and is a very good way of measuring the heart’s performance.’
Dr. Fischer said Biden’s memory would be tested, but ‘in a simple way’.
‘Neurologically, there’s a very simple examination that is done for all patients on reflexes on sensation, movement, gait, recall, memory.’
Things that do not form part of the exam include ‘a CAT scan and MRI, a biopsy or even a stress test’ because there are not considered routine screening tests, Dr. Fischer said.
A stress test involves monitoring someone’s heart rate while they engage in increasingly intense exercise, to check for hidden heart disease.
At Biden’s age, things can deteriorate very quickly.
Dr. Fischer said: ‘You have to anticipate other illnesses making their unwanted appearance. No matter what state of health you’re in, other things can happen.
‘Health is extremely unpredictable, extremely good and bad. And therefore regular physical exams and regular contact with the physician is essential, not just for the President of the United States, but everyone.’
He added: ‘Prognosticating years in advance as people get older, is fraught with problems.’
There has been widespread speculation about President Biden’s mental acuity over the years, spurred by a spate of public gaffes which have become more and more frequent.
He was the oldest president ever to be sworn into office two years ago, when he was 78. He became the first sitting president to ring in his 80th year while in office.
In a public appearance at the White House State Dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte late last year, Biden’s behavior indicated that something was off, such as holding on to Macron’s hand for too long and looking confused.
Biden took Macron’s hand in his, and the two embraced and talked while a French translation of the final section of Biden’s speech was broadcast over the crowd.
At times, President Macron appeared he wanted to move away but Biden was locked in.
Their interaction was peppered with other odd instances that suggest the president was distracted or possibly dealing with a cognitive impairment.
Some have gone so far as to suggest that he may be suffering from the early stages of dementia.
Dr. Mike Smith, a general practitioner from the UK, said: ‘Biden is certainly acting peculiar. He looks like he is taking a bit longer to process things and orientate himself.
‘He looks like he is struggling at times. Obviously not a diagnosis but these are traits seen in early dementia.’
The criticisms that Biden is not as sharp as his job requires have built up over the past year, particularly among other politicians.
This represented a marked shift in political rhetoric which, initially, maintained that attacking Biden for his age was the lowest possible smear.
Politicos and health experts have grown increasingly willing to voice concerns about Biden’s fitness to office, though, as the gaffes pile on.
Dr. Alex Wills, a psychiatrist in Idaho, told DailyMail.com President Biden was experiencing undeniable signs of cognitive decline.
He said: ‘It is of the utmost importance ethically as physicians to not ‘armchair quarterback’ or suggest diagnoses of patients with whom we have not personally evaluated.
‘Common sense, of course, does make us as humans wonder what may be going on if there are obvious signs of possible mental and/or neurological illness.’
Biden challenged those people in doubt about his mental fitness to ‘watch me’ in September in a rare interview with 60 Minutes.
‘If you think I don’t have the energy level or the mental acuity, then you know, that’s one thing,’ he said.
‘It’s another thing, you know, just watch and, you know, keep my schedule. Do what I’m doing.’
That interview aired just a few days before President Biden faced yet another public embarrassment when he appeared to get lost while walking off stage following his remarks at the Global Fund Conference.
In October, Biden caused confusion when he said his son Beau, who died of brain cancer after exposure to burn pits in Iraq, died in the war waged there in the early 2000s.
He was also made to apologize to the family of deceased US Representative Jackie Walorski, who passed away in a tragic car accident in her home state the month prior, after saying at a speech on September 28: ‘Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie? She must not be here.’
Despite these concerns, the President is expected to run for re-election in 2024, and a positive result from this physical could set him up to announce his re-election bid.
Source: Read Full Article