Biden won’t undergo cognitive exam, claims he has ‘full neurological test every day’
President Biden said he undergoes “a full neurological test every day” in his first interview since his disastrous debate against Donald Trump last week — but revealed he would not undergo an independent medical evaluation to reassure voters he is fit to be the 2024 Democratic candidate.
ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked the president, 81, if he’s “ever had a full neurological and cognitive evaluation” as questions of Biden’s mental and physical abilities mount ahead of the November election.
“I get a full neurological test every day with me and I’ve had a full physical,” Biden responded.
“I had, you know, I mean — I’ve been at Walter Reed for my physicals. I mean, yes,” he added.
Stephanopoulos then asked the president if he’s had a neurologist or specialist do an examination.
Biden responded no — and that “no one said I had to.”
“They say I’m good,” he added.
What to know about the fallout from President Biden's debate performance:
- President Biden’s poor performance in the first 2024 presidential debate has left even some Democrats unsure of his fitness for office and future as the party’s candidate.
- Former President Barack Obama admitted that Biden had a “bad” debate, while his rival former President Donald Trump suggested that he was in a “trance” and “choked.”
- Biden told a crowd at a North Carolina rally the day after the debate that he doesn’t “debate as well as I used to” — but insisted that he can still “do this job.”
- The New York Times editorial board called on the president to serve the country by dropping out of the race. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a similar editorial a day later.
- Biden gathered with his family at Camp David to assess the campaign’s future, with his son Hunter reportedly pushing for him to stay in the race. Family members questioned whether the president’s top advisers should be fired after the disastrous debate.
- In a pre-taped interview with ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos, Biden claimed that his “bad episode” at the debate was the result of a cold and not any cognitive issues.
- Biden has rejected calls for him to step down from fellow Democrats, insisting to Stephanopoulos that he is the most qualified to win the election. At a Wisconsin rally, he declared that he is “running and going to win again.”
Biden said he would not be willing to undergo an independent medical evaluation and release the results to the public to reassure voters that he’s not suffering any mental decline.
“I have a cognitive test every day,” Biden said. “Everything I do. I’m not just running a campaign, I’m running the world.”
Biden said he wouldn’t have run for reelection if he didn’t feel like he didn’t have the mental or physical ability to serve another four years.
