He's flighty Joe 'young'
WASHINGTON — President Biden “doesn’t need a cognitive test,” the White House’s top spokesperson said Wednesday after the chief executive joked that his doctors “think I look too young” upon his return from his annual physical.
“There is nothing different than last year,” the 81-year-old president said at an afternoon event focused on policing and crime as he brushed off public concern about his age as he seeks a second term.
“Everything’s great,” Biden added.
The more than two-hour-long medical appointment was conducted by a team of 20 doctors who determined the president is so mentally sound that no test was needed, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the regular White House briefing.
“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. You saw him talking about fighting crime today, tomorrow’s he’s going to the border,” she said.
In public remarks this month,
Biden on three occasions claimed to have conversed recently with long-retired and deceased leaders of Germany and France. He compounded the errors by mixing up the leaders of Mexico and Egypt at a bellicose press conference after denying that he’s suffering cognitive decline.
Special counsel Robert Hur reignited questions about Biden’s mental fitness in a blistering report released Feb. 8, finding that Biden should not face criminal charges for decades of allegedly mishandling classified records in part because no jury would convict him due to perceived senility.
Biden’s physical was not announced in advance, nor was it on the presidential schedule given a day ahead of time to the White House press corps — and only became public when Biden shouted to reporters on the White House lawn, “I’m going to Walter Reed to get my physical” Wednesday morning.
In the afternoon, presidential physician Kevin O’Connor released a six-page report.
It made passing mention of cognition-adjacent evaluations.