President Joe Biden and his administration and campaign have been taken aback by a new demand from a historical ally. On Friday, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, recommended that Biden undergo comprehensive cognitive and neurological testing and make the results public.
In an op-ed for CNN, Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, raised several concerns about Biden’s physical and mental state. He highlighted Biden’s halting speech, confused rambling, loss of concentration, stiff gait, and lack of facial animation during his widely criticized debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27.
“For me as a brain specialist, it was concerning to watch President Joe Biden, and it quickly became clear that I was not alone in my reaction,” Gupta wrote. “Over the past week, I received more than a dozen calls, texts and emails from medical colleagues who, like me, specialize in the brain. It wasn’t that what we noticed was necessarily new but that it was particularly pronounced, and right from the start of the debate.”
Gupta highlighted Biden’s most recent physical exam in February, which involved a team of 20 doctors, including a neurologist, who conducted an “extremely detailed” neurological exam. According to Gupta’s op-ed, the exam results showed no signs of neurological disorders or no evidence of Parkinson’s disease, which might have explained Biden’s stiff gait and reduced facial expressions during his debate. However, Gupta noted that no cognitive testing was performed during this exam. Thorough testing will determine whether there is a straightforward explanation for Biden’s debate symptoms or if there is a more serious underlying issue, he wrote.
“As a doctor, I would want to understand the possibility of underlying dementia because, over the past several years, we have learned that there are medical treatments and lifestyle changes that can delay and, in some cases, even reverse the symptoms of the disease,” Gupta wrote. “These are hopeful days when it comes to dementia, and early diagnosis and treatment is better than it has ever been.”
The White House has declined media requests for additional medical records and has not permitted questions directed at Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Dr. O’Connor observed the debate and expressed no concerns about Biden’s performance afterward.
“Elected officials, like anyone else, are entitled to some level of privacy, and under federal health-care laws, there is no ability for someone to obtain personal medical information on an individual unless authorized, even the president,” Gupta wrote. “There is also no requirement for the president or candidates to disclose that information. Most do not. In fact, in the 23 years I have been reporting on these topics, only Sen. John McCain — one of the oldest presidential candidates in US history [the late senator was 72 when he ran in 2008] — shared all of his records with me and the American public.
“We often hear that observing a candidate on the campaign trail is the best assessment of the individual’s physical and cognitive health. Back in 2020, Biden said he was ‘constantly tested’ by the work of running for president. ‘All you’ve got to do is watch me,’ he said then. The country is watching now, and that assessment gives cause for concern — and a need for transparent testing.”
U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), who previously served as the lead White House physician under both President Trump and President Obama before being elected to Congress, urged Biden to undergo testing for “performance-enhancing drugs” prior to the debate, after calling on Biden to be tested practically since his inauguration.
Jackson served on the White House medical staff for 14 years, spanning the administrations of Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. He served as Physician to the President under Obama and Trump, with Trump creating the office of Chief Medical Adviser to the President and appointing Jackson as its inaugural officeholder.
“During that time, I took care of all three of the presidents and, you know, on a day to day basis. I also, you know, I also was the director of the White House Medical Unit and the appointed physician to the president for both Obama and Trump. So I kind of feel like I know exactly what’s required on a day-to-day basis, both mentally and physically, to do the job of president of the United States,” Jackson told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo last month.
He also explained that he’ll be submitting another letter to the White House demanding that Biden submit to a cognitive test. “Maria, I don’t need to tell you, I don’t need to tell your viewers or anybody else in this country right now that we have a serious problem here. Everyone knows it now. You don’t have to be a physician. You certainly don’t have to be a physician to the president and see what’s going on right now,” the former White House doctor said.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.