OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former White House physician and current GOP congressman from Texas Dr. Ronny Jackson on Tuesday broke down the results of President Joe Biden’s recently completed physical in an interview with Newsmax TV.
In particular, Jackson lashed out at the report Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, describing it as “six pages of nothing.”
In response to Newsmax TV’s “Wake Up America” host Rob Finnerty, who asked the Texas lawmaker if he was “surprised if anything was missing” from the exam report, Jackson replied there was “a lot missing.”
“There was a lot missing, Rob. Honestly there was six pages of stuff that most people just don’t care about. I mean, Dr. O’Conner spent six pages addressing an occasional cough and some stiffness and things like that, when the elephant in the room is the president’s cognitive ability,” said the former White House physician under Presidents Obama and Trump.
“Over fifty percent of this country does not believe he is cognitively fit to be our commander in chief and our head of state, yet that wasn’t addressed anywhere in there,” Jackson added.
He went on to recount his physical of former President Trump and how many, especially those on the left, were most eager to hear about Trump’s mental acuity after frequently accusing him of being unfit and unstable.
“We set the precedent when we did President Trump’s physical, I did. The far-left and the mainstream media were relentless in their pursuit of me to do something to address not only his physical capabilities but his mental capabilities, which we did,” said Jackson.
“We did a cognitive test. As far as I’m concerned, we set the precedent and [Biden] should have had one done as well,” Jackson noted further.
For his part, O’Connor said Biden was fit and able to sufficiently serve as president, as reported by CNBC:
O’Connor in his report said Biden has been experiencing an increase in the frequency and severity of throat-clearing during speaking engagements. The doctor said his belief that acid reflux is causing that problem was supported by the exam and an expert consultation.
Another issue flagged by O’Connor was Biden’s “ambulatory gait,” which the doctor said, “is perceptibly stiffer and less fluid than it was a year ago.”
Much of that stiffness is due to wear and tear on Biden’s spine, as well as a limp from a fracture in his right foot last year, and “a mile sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet,” O’Connor said.
Pointedly, however, there was no mention of whether O’Connor gave Biden the same mental acuity test that Jackson administered to Trump.
And to that end, Jackson has made mention of his concerns about Biden’s mental status in the past and has said the current president needs to take one so the country can know as well.
“I think he’s demonstrating every single day that there is something going on,” he said to 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 said. “He’s just not aging gracefully at this point.”
“You can go back – there’s forty years of tape of this man – he’s always made gaffes and stuff but these are different, he’s confused, he’s disoriented,” he said.
“We all know people who are 100-years old, who basically are as sharp as a tack, and we know people who are in their mid-60’s that having some cognitive difficulties…and I think he’s on that end of the spectrum,” he said.
“I’m just asking them, when you do the physical exam include the cognitive assessment,” the representative said. “As far as I’m concerned the standard precedent has been set and they need to follow and do the same.”
