OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The former White House doctor who served for both former President Obama and for Donald Trump has issued a dire warning about Joe Biden.
Texas Republican Representative Ronny Jackson said that he believes Biden is suffering a cognitive decline and should be tested immediately.
“I think he’s demonstrating every single day that there is something going on,” he said to Fox News on Saturday.
“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.”
When the mainstream media was questioning Donald Trump’s mental cognition he acquiesced and took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) which is a 30 point exam that tests for memory impairment, Fox News reported.
“The far left and the mainstream media were demanding that be the new standard for anybody who’s going to lead our country and be our Commander-in-Chief and our head of state,” he said. “I’m just saying I agree with them at this point — we need to get it done.”
Jackson, who administered the test for Trump, explained that the exam is not an IQ test, but rather a standard test for age-related issues, including dementia and cognitive decline.
The White House said last month that Biden is scheduled to take his physical exam “later this year” – which if done before next year would be completed sooner than his predecessor’s health exams.
Both Trump and Barack Obama took their exams at the start of their second year in the Oval Office.
But Jackson pointed out that the White House has not said if the cognitive exam will be included during the president’s health screening.
The freshman Texas Republican argued that Trump set a new precedent regarding a president’s mental assessment – a sentiment at one point shared by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
In October 2020 Speaker Pelosi introduced a bill to create a bipartisan commission of health advisors to look at a president’s ability to serve, but she has been silent on the matter since Biden entered the White House.
“This is not about President Trump. He will face the judgment of the voters. But he shows the need for us to create a process for future presidents,” she said, noting that the bill would not have applied to President Trump.
“This legislation applies to future presidents, but we are reminded of the necessity of action by the health of the current president,” she said. “It’s not about any of us making a judgment about the president’s well-being.”
This is not the first time that Jackson has expressed concerns about the mental state of Biden. Last month he gave the same plea for a cognitive test.
During an appearance on The Todd Starnes Show he called on Biden to take a cognitive test and show the results to the people.
He said that, to him, Biden looked “very confused, very frail, very weak, and it just does not inspire confidence.”
“He’s always made gaffes here or there, but this is something different. This is repeated times where he can’t remember exactly what’s going on, where he’s at, what he’s doing, he looks confused…he just kind of stares off into space,” he said. “It’s time to get his physical exam done and that should include cognitive testing.”
“I’m not diagnosing him with Alzheimer’s or anything, but I’m saying he has some definite cognitive decline that I think is age-related and it’s getting worse as time goes on,” he said. “It’s all very concerning.”
He said that he wanted the results to be shown to the public as he noted that Biden has had aneurysms and “there’s a part of your brain that never recovers.”
“Do you believe that there are others, perhaps being led by a committee, that are ultimately making these decisions and Biden is just the guy out in front of the cameras?” Starnes said.
“Absolutely. I believe he’s just the guy in front of the cameras. That’s just my personal opinion,” the representative said. “It’s just disturbing that he can’t answer questions from the press. They will not put him in front of the press unless they hand-select who the questions are coming from. They’re giving the questions ahead of time. You can tell because he’s got notes. He calls on reporters in order. He references his notes after the question, indicating they…prepared him with talking points.”
“This isn’t the way it’s supposed to work. President Trump didn’t do that. President Trump walked up into an entirely hostile press and took questions from anybody and everybody. He would stand up there and takes questions for hours…and that’s what we should expect from our president and we’re not getting that. We’re getting a very sheltered individual who’s being directed by his staff and he mentions frequently if he deviates from them telling him what to do, he’s going to get in trouble,” he said.
“Do you believe he’s going to be able to finish out his term?” Starnes asked.
“I do not. I don’t think so. I’ve said that from the beginning,” Jackson said. “Four years is a long time if you’re already having this kind of difficulty early in your tenure…I do not have the level of confidence that tells me he’s going to make it four years. I just think it’s going to progressively get worse and worse.”
