More than a dozen Republican House members, led by former White House doctor Ronny Jackson, asked President Biden on June 17 to undergo a cognitive test and release the results “so the American people know the full mental and intellectual health of their President.”
The letter reads, “We write to you today to express concern with your current cognitive state… [The American people] deserve full transparency on the mental capabilities of their highest elected leader. To achieve this, we urge you to submit to a cognitive test immediately. We implore you to then publish the test results, so the American people know the full mental and intellectual health of their President.”
The lawmakers reminded Biden that while on the campaign trail he agreed to a similar assessment. When political opponents and media started clamoring on President Trump’s health, the White House conducted a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) of President Trump, at which he excelled.
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A MOCA, according to the creator of the test, is best administered when a person or their loved ones “start noticing mental decline,” particularly forgetfulness on ordinary tasks. “Unfortunately,” the letter goes, “your forgetfulness and cognitive difficulties have been prominently on display over the past year.”
The lawmakers noted such examples this year as an incident in March when Biden apparently forgot the name of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin; his botching of names, titles, and the time of day during a visit to Houston in February; and a May statement in which he misidentified the plane he used as vice president in the Obama administration. He also appeared to forget a line from the Declaration of Independence in March 2020: “Most school-age children could recite that famous and revered patriotic phrase by heart, but you could not.”
The letter also pointed out that when House Democrats were seeking last October to create an independent commission to examine a president’s fitness for office, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) argued that given an aging population, “it’s not hard to think that there will be future situations where the president’s physical and mental state may create issues for us.”
The quote was turned against Biden: “We agree with the statements put forth by Representative Raskin. As such, we encourage you to follow the example set by President Trump by undergoing a cognitive test as soon as possible and immediately making the results available for the American people.”
The letter was also forwarded to Kevin O’Connor, D.O., physician to the President, and Anthony Fauci, M.D., medical advisor to the President.
The letter does not cite any examples from Biden’s recent week-long trip to Europe, such as when he tried to remind British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he hadn’t introduced the president of South Africa during a roundtable discussion at the G7 summit, only to be reminded that Johnson had done just that; how he confused Syria and Libya; or how he referred to COVAX, a worldwide initiative aimed at increasing access to COVID-19 vaccines, as “COVID” through his speech; or his bizarre remarks that he would “get in trouble” with his staff if he takes “unapproved” questions from reporters.
The letter also does not mention an initiative proposed by the House Democrats asking President Biden to share his unilateral ability to launch nuclear weapons. In a letter to the president, Representatives Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), accompanied by nearly three dozens of their colleagues, argued that “vesting one person with this authority entails real risks,” and asked to “modify the decision-making process.”
According to Fox News, a White House spokesperson declined to comment late Thursday on whether President Biden would agree to undergo MOCA, but in May the White House said Biden would undergo a medical checkup this year and would be transparent about the results.
Last year, the doctors who reviewed Biden’s medical history and current state said he was in good health. One of them, Stuart Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois, told The Washington Post that Biden’s health and family history suggest a life expectancy of about 97.
“You can’t sugarcoat aging. Once you get up to that age, changes do occur more rapidly than when you’re younger,” Olshansky said. “But with Biden, not only are there not warning signs, the signs that you see show he’s in exceptional health.”
Biden’s doctor Kevin O’Connor said he is being treated for four ailments, has quite an extensive medical history, but is “fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”
Other doctors were not so optimistic. Former President Barack Obama’s once-longtime doctor said the medical records of then-candidate Joe Biden’s campaign disclosed were concerning and incomplete. “He’s not a healthy guy,” Dr. David Scheiner, concluded after reading the records. “He’s not in bad shape for his age, but I wouldn’t say he’s in outstanding health. Could I guarantee he won’t have issues for the next four years? He has a lot of issues that are just sort of sitting there.”
But it is not Biden’s history of irregular heartbeat, high cholesterol, acid reflux, seasonal allergies, and aneurysms, all of which are reflected in his health records, that raise the most concern about his ability to lead America. It is his accelerating mental decline that manifests itself in hundreds of “gaffes” and incidents of aggression, confusion, mumbling, and pure nonsense that, indeed, cannot be sugarcoated. Biden’s condition was obvious a year ago. According to Rasmussen poll released last June, nearly 40 percent of voters though then-presumptive Democratic nominee Biden had dementia, including 30 percent of independents likely to vote. One in five Democrats believed it as well.
The question is, since Biden is evidently not all there, who are Biden’s handlers — the ones who are really the country — and how do we, the people, hold them accountable?
