A renowned geriatrician said he believes Joe Biden exhibits the early signs of Parkinson's disease as another expert said he believes the symptoms are more in alignment with vascular dementia. Either way, experts generally agree that Biden's mental acuity is declining.
The claims come amid reports that a neurologist specializing in Parkinson's disease visited the White House eight times over eight months between July 2023 and March 2024, with at least one of the visits being with Biden's physician.
"I look at images of President Biden, and there are certain features that, to me, he looks a little bit Parkinsonian, as if he's got early Parkinson's disease," British geriatrician Dr. David Jarrett told Times Radio in an interview in early February, before the president's annual physical, which took place on Feb. 28.
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Jarrett cited Biden's "rather monotonous" voice, his odd gait that doesn't feature him swinging his arms and a few falls Biden has made over the years. He said Biden's face is also "rather mask-like," without the "usual expressions that we have" as human beings.
"These may point toward some sort of neurodegenerative condition," Jarrett said, explaining that an individual's cognitive abilities tend to decline with age, with the rate of decline differing from person to person.
"Some of these features of Parkinson's disease also come on in a lot of elderly people," Jarrett added. "And Parkinson's disease does, sadly, lead to a dementing illness with time." Jarrett also said, however, that lots of mental function is "preserved" during aging, adding, "Our use of words may be maintained or sometimes improved." Crosswords, he said, tend to be a favorite activity among older people, who he said are "very good" at them.
" Joe Biden would have a really good mental reserve," the geriatrician said. "We can build that up over a lifetime with healthy living and high, good education and social interaction, which can sometimes ward off dementing illnesses for a few years at least."
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Judy Gaman, the CEO of Executive Medicine of Texas, echoed Jarrett as she said that Biden shows signs of Parkinson's, telling the publication that the way he leans forward is a "classic" sign of Parkinson's, as is his "slowed movement, also known as bradykinesia." She added, "We have all noticed how he looks to be in slow motion."
Gaman suggested that Biden could be suffering from Alzheimer's disease if what he has isn't Parkinson's, telling Fox News Digital that his speech and behaviors are indicative of Alzheimer's. "He stares, loses his thoughts and is rumored to get angry quite easily," she told the publication, adding, "Watching him is like watching my own mother who had Alzheimer's."
Like Jarrett, Gaman cited Biden's lack of arm movement when he walks and his shuffling feet. But Dr. Marc Siegel, a clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, who also regularly contributes to Fox News for medical pieces, told the publication that he believes Biden has vascular dementia, not Parkinson's as both Jarrett and Gaman suggested.
"His gait is not consistent with Parkinson's disease," he told the publication. "He was visited by a Parkinson's expert in January 2024, but the subsequent White House physical said he didn't have it. I think what he has is much more consistent with vascular dementia."
He doesn't believe Biden has Alzheimer's, either, stating that he believes Biden has not shown worsening behavioral issues, delusions or hallucinations that are commonly associated with the disease.
Vascular dementia, which is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's, is more likely, Siegel said, because of Biden's long-term atrial fibrillation and the brain aneurysm repairs he had in 1988 that were associated with a brain bleed, he told the publication.
Vascular dementia is defined by the National Institute on Aging as "changes to memory, thinking, and behavior resulting from conditions that affect the blood vessels in the brain." The institute added, "Cognition and brain function can be significantly affected by the size, location, and number of vascular changes."
Siegel called for Biden to have an MRI, stating that he believes he's "far past" the early stages of the disease. Jarrett, in his interview with Times Radio, said he has "some worries" about Biden's fitness for office, summing up what the other experts seemed to believe as well.
"The thought of having a race between a 77-year-old and an 81-year-old for the presidency leaves me feeling a little gloomy, personally," the U.K. geriatrician added, referring to the likely race between Biden and former President Donald Trump. The former is 81, while the latter is now 78.
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Both have shown signs of cognitive decline, according to experts, with Dr. John Gartner previously telling the Mirror that he believes Trump has some form of dementia because of many behaviors similar to the ones outlined by Jarrett, Gaman and Siegel.
The White House on Monday shot down claims that Biden has Parkinson's or that he's suffering from mental decline. Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, told The New York Times that the president's February physical "found no signs of Parkinson's and he is not being treated for it."
Bates added, "A wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds." He said Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician, did not find any reason to reevaluate the president amid the claims, which began after Biden's rather lackluster performance during the presidential debate hosted by CNN on June 27.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was also asked about the possibility of Biden having Parkinson's, but she refused to explain why the eight visits by Dr. Kevin Cannard, the neurological expert, occurred, though she emphasized Bates' earlier point as she said that the president is not being treated for Parkinson's and is also not taking medication for it, nor has he ever taken medication for it.
Concerns over Biden's health are mounting, however, as the November election quickly approaches, which will ultimately see him pitted against Trump once again in a repeat of the 2020 election. Calls for the president to step down have been made, with Biden adamantly refusing to do so.