BETHESDA —President Joe Biden He remains “in shape to carry out his duties”, without significant changes in his health at 81 years old, this according to his doctor, after the last general check-up carried out on the president before the November elections.
The health of Biden, the oldest sitting president in US history, has become a key issue ahead of the election.
The expected exam at Walter Reed Military Hospital outside Washington came just weeks after a special prosecutor’s report portrayed him as an “old man” with a “bad memory.”
“He remains fit to perform his duties and fully executes all of his responsibilities, without exemptions or accommodations,” according to White House physician Kevin O’Connor, revealing the test results.
The only new development this year was Biden’s use of a machine to keep his airways clear at night and reduce sleep disruptions, along with an emergency dental procedure, O’Connor said.
Biden suffers from a number of minor physical problems, such as stiffness when walking due to wear and tear on his spine, but there were no significant changes in them from last year, according to the report.
Biden: “Everything is great”
Biden himself, who faces a likely electoral rematch with former President Donald Trump, 77, joked that the only concern was that doctors think he looks “too young.”
“Everything is great,” he told reporters at the White House.
Biden took a short helicopter ride to the medical center where American presidents usually go and left after two and a half hours.
Cognitive Test
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Biden’s failure to undergo cognitive testing, saying his doctors assessed he did not need it.
“The president goes through a cognitive test every day,” Jean-Pierre justified to journalists, citing the national and international political issues he deals with. “It’s very rigorous work,” he said.
At last year’s medical examination, Biden received a clean bill of health, although he had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest.
“Bad memory”
Biden’s routine medical checkup comes as voter concerns are growing about his age, as he would be 86 at the end of an eventual second term.
The issue has come to the fore even further with special prosecutor Robert Hur’s report, which exonerated him of having illegally stored secret documents in his home, but stated that a jury would view him as a “well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.” “, to justify the actions of the president.
At a press conference at the White House, Biden then counterattacked by saying that his memory was “fine” and criticized the prosecutor for claiming that he did not remember when his son Beau died of cancer.
Biden has appeared disoriented at public events and repeatedly has episodes of confusion about facts and names of personalities. Additionally, he has fallen in public on three occasions.
Despite these episodes, Biden is seeking re-election and faces low approval levels.
Source: With information from AFP
