A former doctor for the White House under the Obama administration said former President Biden should have been tested for cognitive decline in his final year in office, given his age.
Jeffrey Kuhlman said performing such a test on Biden would have shed light on the former president’s mental state and ability to serve another four years.
“Sometimes those closest to the tree miss the forest,” Kuhlman told The Washington Post.
Biden’s long-term doctor, Kevin O’Connor, didn’t perform a cognitive test on the leader during his fourth year in office, as White House officials said formal results weren’t needed to prove the former president’s mental soundness.
“The president’s doctor has said, if you look at what this president, who is also the commander-in-chief — he passes a cognitive test every day — every day, as he moves from one topic to another topic, understanding the granular level of these topics,” former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a February briefing last year.
“You saw him talk about fighting crime today. Tomorrow, he’s going to go to the border. Next week, he’s going to give a State of the Union Address,” she added.
O’Connor was recently subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) to address why a cognitive test wasn’t given.
Biden traveled often while serving, including taking two international trips prior to his first presidential debate with President Trump.
“This is a very rigorous job. And the president has been able to do — do this job every day for the past three years,” Jean-Pierre previously told reporters from the podium.
However, Kuhlman said the public deserved to have evidence that Biden was mentally sharp, arguing that health reports should include a total overview of a president’s well-being.
“It shouldn’t be just health, it should be fitness,” Kuhlman said. “Fitness is: Do you have that robust mind, body, spirit that you can do this physically, mentally, emotionally demanding job?”
Months after leaving office, Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer amid reports alleging he suffered from mental decay while serving as commander-in-chief.
“Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” he wrote in a post on X.
“Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”
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