OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Several Republicans are calling on President Joe Biden to take a cognitive test because they believe his “mental decline” has “become more apparent.”
Nearly 40 GOP congressional members want Biden, 79, to follow the precedent set by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, as recent polling increasingly shows more Americans are not certain of Biden’s mental fitness for the demanding job of president.
Led by former White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, 37 other Republican colleagues signed a letter to Biden on Tuesday in which they said they had “concern” about his “current cognitive state.”
“My colleagues and I are again asking President Biden to immediately undergo a formal cognitive screening exam, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA),” Jackson said.
“As a former physician to three Presidents of the United States, I know what it takes mentally and physically to execute the duties of Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,” Jackson added. “Joe Biden has continually proven to me and to the world that something isn’t right. The American people deserve to have absolute confidence in their President’s cognitive ability.”
The Texas Republican said taking “the cognitive test will be an important first step” for Biden to reassure concerned Americans that he is fit for office or “in identifying and properly treating symptoms of impairment that are consistent with a variety of cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, Parkinson’s, or multiple sclerosis.”
“This is not a partisan issue. When I discussed taking a cognitive test with President Trump, he was eager to assure the American people and to put the fake news media’s stories to bed,” Jackson wrote. “Why won’t President Biden do the same?
“We can only assume the worst if he doesn’t submit to the same standard that his own party demanded of the last Administration,” he noted further. “The precedent has been set.”
In their letter, the lawmakers said they “believe that, regardless of gender, age, or political party, all Presidents should follow the example set by former President Trump to document and demonstrate sound mental abilities.”
“While you underwent your annual physical exam on November 19, 2021, you either did not face a cognitive test or those results were withheld from the public,” the group of Republicans continued. They added that while the current White House physician cleared Biden physically, the GOP lawmakers wrote that they “are worried about your mental abilities.”
“The Alzheimer’s Association lists ‘changes in mood and personality,’ including being more ‘easily upset’ as one of ten signs of mental decline,” they wrote. “You displayed this type of mood change during a cabinet meeting on January 24, 2022, when you apparently did not know your microphone was on after finishing your opening remarks, and you called a White House reporter a ‘stupid son of a b—-’ in response to a question he asked on inflation.”
Jackson has said before he believes Biden is displaying signs of cognitive decline and should be checked for the possibility.
“I think he’s demonstrating every single day that there is something going on,” he told Fox News in July.
“You don’t need to be a physician to look at this behavior and see there’s something concerning happening,” he added. “He’s just not aging gracefully at this point.”
