Ronny Jackson stands by calls for Biden to take cognitive test because the ‘whole world’ watching
Former White House physician and current Texas Republican Congressman Ronny Jackson doubled-down Wednesday on his repeated claims that Joe Biden is ‘not fit to be our president right now.’
Jackson told Fox News in a phone interview: ‘The whole country is seeing his mental cognitive issues on display for over a year now, and there’s really no question in most people’s minds that there’s something going on with him.’
‘He’s not cognitively the same as he used to be and, in my mind, not fit to be our president right now,’ he added of the 79-year-old White House occupant.
The increased criticism comes amid the Ukraine-Russia crisis and as politicians slam Biden for not doing enough in response to President Vladimir Putin‘s disregard for U.S. warning in going ahead with invading Ukraine.
Biden issued sanctions on the two new regions in Eastern Ukraine that Putin declared Moscow now recognizes as independent states and also announced punishment on Russian banks and elites.
But some feel this still isn’t tough enough and that Biden looks weak on the world stage with continued gaffes and slip ups in speech.
‘Every time he gets up and talks to the American people, it’s not just the American people that are watching him speak, it’s the whole world, and that’s part of what the problem is here,’ Representative Jackson said.
He added: ‘[Biden] looks tired, he looks weak, he looks confused, he’s incoherent, and it sends a message of weakness all over the world, and they’re seizing up on that.’
Jackson, who was White House Physician under Donald Trump and Barack Obama, has been critical of Biden’s mental cognition and fitness for office since the 2020 campaign and claimed the former vice president has ‘always been prone to gaffes.’
Two-thirds of likely voters want to see Biden complete the same cognitive ability test Donald Trump took when he was in office, a new poll revealed last week.
Representative Ronny Jackson – a former White House physician under Trump and Obama – is doubling-down on his claims that Joe Biden is not fit for office amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis
‘Every time he gets up and talks to the American people, it’s not just the American people that are watching him speak, it’s the whole world, and that’s part of what the problem is here,’ Jackson said of President Biden, who has long been known to be gaffe-prone
A poll released last week shows 66% of likely voters want to see Biden take a cognitive test and release the results to prove he is mentally fit for office – including 43% of Democrats
A Rasmussen Reports survey released Thursday shows 56 percent of respondents don’t think Biden’s fit for office and 43 percent of Democrats want to see Biden take the mental abilities test and release the results.
This is compared to the 47 percent of Democrats who say the president should not give into pressures to take the test.
‘Should Biden take a cognitive test, similar to the one former President Trump took in 2018, and release the results?’ the poll asked the 1,000 likely voters who participated in the survey.
A whopping 86 percent of Republicans said yes to the only 9 percent who said no.
Among all voters, 66 percent want Biden to take the cognitive test to 26 percent who do not.
Earlier this month, a group of 38 GOP House lawmakers signed a letter to Biden urging him to take the test. The letter was led by Jackson, who now represents Texas’ 13th congressional district.
The letter points to recent examples of the elderly president’s ‘mental decline’, including forgetting numbers and names as well as recent gaffes and hot mic moments.
‘The American people should have absolute confidence in their President. They deserve to know that he or she can perform the duties of Head of State and Commander-in-Chief,’ the letter states.
It adds: ‘They deserve full transparency on the mental capabilities of their highest elected leader. To achieve this, we urge you to submit to a cognitive test immediately.’
Jackson penned a similar letter in June that did not appear to receive a public reply from the White House.
When questions emerged from Democrats during Trump’s presidency over his mental fitness for office, he defended himself by sharing that he scored a perfect 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which was administered by then-White House Physician Jackson in 2018.
The purpose of that specific test is to assess mild cognitive impairment or early signs of dementia.
Many made fun of Trump’s boasting of a perfect score as the tests asks questions like identifying animals by their image and drawing a clock.
The same poll shows 56% of Americans are either ‘not very confident’ or ‘not at all confident’ that Biden is fit for office – only 27% of likely voters are ‘very confident’ in his fitness
US President Joe Biden’s medical history
Age: 78
Heart: Atrial fibrillation detected in 2003 (an irregular heart beat);
Brain: Two cerebral aneurysms in 1988 (bulging blood vessels in the brain that burst);
Lungs: pulmonary embolism in 1988 (a blood clot in his lung)
Other ailments: In addition to several sinus surgeries, Biden has had his gallbladder removed and has had several non-melanoma skin cancers removed.
The polling question from Rasmussen is specifically in reference to Republican lawmakers’ continued efforts to get the president to take a test to make sure he is mentally sound enough to serve.
Some wording in the polling question notes: ‘Republican members of Congress have called on President Biden to take a test of his cognitive abilities and make the results public.’
Only 27 percent of Thursday’s poll respondents are ‘very confident’ that Biden is fit for the office of the presidency and 15 percent are ‘somewhat confident.’ On the other hand, 11 percent are ‘not very confident’ in his fitness for office and another 45 percent are ‘not at all confident.’
Sixty-three percent of likely voters said Biden’s mentally decline has become more apparent in the last two years – one of which he was running for president and another he was already in office.
The survey was conducted February 13-14 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The results of lowering faith in mental and physical abilities come as Biden’s approval rating continues to diminish going into the 2022 midterms.
Forgetting numbers, confusing Libya and Syria, calling Kamala ‘president’ and hot mic blunders: Biden’s gaffes that have raised health concerns
As the oldest person ever sworn in to the White House, President Joe Biden has faced questions and concerns over his mental as well as physical acuity since taking one one of the most stressful jobs in the world.
But aside from his advanced age, Biden, 79, has worried even supporters with numerous gaffes over the year he’s been in office.
Most recently, Rep. Ronny Jackson pointed out in a letter demanding Biden take a cognitive test that one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s Disease is erratic changes in mood or personality.
January 24, 2022 – Biden calls Peter Doocy a ‘stupid son of a b*****’
‘You displayed this type of mood change during a cabinet meeting on when you apparently did not know your microphone was on after finishing your opening remarks, and you called a White House reporter a ‘stupid son of a b****’in response to a question asked on inflation,’ Jackson claimed.
He was referring to a hot mic moment in late January during which Biden criticized Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, after which the president personally apologized to the journalist.
Biden has also been known to have trouble with the names of his most senior officials, foreign leaders and even countries.
At last year’s G7 in June, the president bungled the names of Syria and Libya multiple times when discussing security efforts with Russia. The White House was later forced to issue a clarification.
Another embarrassing foreign policy faux pas occurred in September 2021, when Biden appeared to forget the name of Australia’s prime minister — who was appearing via video link right beside him.
While announcing a historic security deal between the UK, US and Australia, Biden told Britain’s Boris Johnson, ‘Thank you, Boris,’ before turning to Australia’s Scott Morrison and saying: ‘And I want to thank that fella down under. Thank you very much pal.’
Biden has seemingly even struggled with names of people he speaks to more regularly. He gave a speech marking International Women’s Day in March of last year, during which he was promoting two female officers to four-star generals.
March 8, 2022 – Slipping and forgetting Lloyd Austin’s name
The president slipped up during the March 8 speech while trying to remember Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s name.
‘I want to thank Sec-, the former general, I keep calling him ‘General.’ My – the guy who runs that outfit over there,’ Biden said, before quickly adding, ‘I want to make sure we thank the secretary for all he’s done.’
A trip to Texas that same month to visit a Houston-area vaccination center saw Biden apparently lose his train of thought and become confused. He even asked, ‘What am I doing here?’ while trying to get himself back on track.
On multiple occasions Biden has also appeared to refer to Vice President Kamala Harris as the ‘president.’ During a commencement speech at South Carolina State University in late December, Biden remarked: ‘Of course, President Harris is a proud Howard alum.’
He made the mistake again more recently, declaring during a voting rights speech in Georgia on January 11 that ‘President Harris and I stood on the United States Capitol.’
Biden has been known to get dates confused as well — in May 2021 he recalled traveling via Amtrak to see his mother while he was vice president in 2013. But his mother had died in 2010.
The apparent issues began long before Biden took the White House. When he was on the campaign trail in September 2020, then-candidate Biden was widely mocked for saying ‘200 million people have died’ from COVID-19 under Donald Trump’s watch. The number was around 200,000 at the time.
And while president, Biden had to be corrected on a statistic regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. During a COVID-19 White House press conference, Biden attempted to say, ’57… excuse me… 570… I don’t want to read it, I’m not sure I got the right number…’ Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci aided him to say the figure was ’57 million.’
Confusing Libya and Syria
‘I’m hopeful that we can find an accommodation where we can save the lives of people in — for example, in — in Libya,’ the president said, mentioning the north African country for the third time instead of Syria, in the Middle East. Biden is pictured in Cornwall, United Kingdom on June 13
The White House later brushed the confusion off, confirming that it was indeed, Syria, the country where Russia and the US have been involved in a decade-long civil war, which the president was referring to
Biden repeatedly confused Syria with Libya while discussing ways of working with Russia during a press conference at the G7 on June 13.
The 78-year-old gaffe machine spoke of working with Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide economic assistance to the people of Libya, prompting some confused glances from the press pack at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England.
‘I’m hopeful that we can find an accommodation where we can save the lives of people in — for example, in — in Libya,’ the president said, mentioning the north African country for the third time instead of Syria, which is in the Middle East. The White House later brushed the confusion off, confirming that the president was indeed referring to Syria, the country where Russia and the US have been involved in a decade-long civil war.
Tripping while climbing the Air Force One stairs
Over the years, President Joe Biden has made numerous gaffes and mix-ups and has even been caught falling. Pictured: Biden falling while walking up the stairs of Air Force One on March 19
On March 19, he was caught tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews
On March 19, video captured Biden tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.
In the clip, Biden stumbles as he walks up the airstairs. He grabs the hand railing to catch his balance, but then loses his footing two additional times.
During the third stumble, he falls to his knees. However, after brushing off his leg, he reaches the top of the plane and gives a salute before disappearing inside.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later told reporters that Biden was ‘100 percent fine’ and preparing for his trip in Atlanta.
‘It’s pretty windy outside. It’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself,’ she said.
Just one day earlier, during a press conference on March 18 (pictured), he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris’
Just one day earlier, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris.’
The gaffe occurred during a press conference on March 18, during which he lauded his administration for being close to meeting their goal of 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.
‘Now when President Harris and I took a virtual tour of a vaccination center in Arizona not long ago, one of the nurses on that, on that tour injecting people, giving vaccinations, said that each shot was like administering a dose of hope,’ Biden said.
Harris was standing behind Biden as the president carried on with his speech, but did not correct himself.
Later that day, when the White House released the transcript of his speech, Harris’s proper title was inserted with brackets.
On March 9, while making a speech, Biden seemed to forget the name of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (above)
In a speech on March 9, Biden seemed to fumble with his words and forget the name of his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
‘I want to thank Sec – the former general – I keep calling him ‘General,” Biden said.
‘My – the guy who runs that outfit over there. I want to make sure we thank the Secretary for all he’s done to try to implement what we’ve just talked about, and for recommending these two women for promotion.’ The slip-occurred despite the fact that just a few minutes earlier, he had mentioned Austin’s name in the speech without an issue.
On Election Day, in November, Biden introduced a crowd to his granddaughter, but referred to her as his son
During an Election Day speech in Philadelphia, Biden stumbled over his words and confused his granddaughter with his late son, Beau Biden.
Biden told the crowd: ‘I want to introduce you to two of my granddaughters…this is my son, Beau Biden who a lot of you helped elect to the Senate in Delaware.’
The commander-in-chief had meant to introduce the crowed to Natalie, Beau’s daughter, but hadn’t just mixed up the name but the person – he also put his arm around Finnegan Biden, Hunter’s daughter.
He finally corrected himself as he draped his arm around Natalie’s shoulder and said: ‘This is Natalie, this is Beau’s daughter.’
Beau Biden passed away in 2015 after a months-long battle with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest types of brain cancer.
TOLD STATE SENATOR IN WHEELCHAIR TO STAND UP
In 2008, Biden told then-Missouri state senator Chuck Graham to stand up for the crowd at a rally, before realizing he was in a wheelchair
Not all of Biden’s gaffes occurred in the 2020s or even the 2010s. In fact, some happened in the early aughts.
In September 2008, after Biden had been named former President Barack Obama’s running mate, he attended a campaign rally in Missouri.
It was there that he called on then-Missouri state senator Chuck Graham, who passed away last year. to stand up for the crowd.
‘I’m told Chuck Graham, state senator, is here. Stand up Chuck, let ’em see you,’ Biden said.
It was at that moment he realized Graham was in a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy.
‘Oh, God love you. What am I talking about. I’ll tell you what, you’re making everybody else stand up, though, pal.’
According to the Columbia Tribune, Graham said he was never offended by the mistake.
A new CIVIQS poll released this week shows Biden’s approval sitting at 34 percent from the 165,786 respondents surveyed.
His disapproval is at 57 percent and 9 percent neither approve nor disapprove.
House Republicans’ letter to Biden earlier in February cites instances of the president forgetting the names of senior Cabinet officials, misreading clearly-marked figures and even suggested Biden has shown symptoms of Alzheimers’ Disease.
‘The Alzheimer’s Association lists ‘changes in mood and personality,’ including being more ‘easily upset’ as one of ten signs of mental decline,’ Jackson wrote in the letter.
‘You displayed this type of mood change during a cabinet meeting on January 24, 2022, when you apparently did not know your microphone was on after finishing your opening remarks, and you called a White House reporter a ‘stupid son of a b****’in response to a question asked on inflation.’
He was referring to a hot mic moment at a press conference where Biden called Fox News reporter Peter Doocy a ‘stupid son of a b****’, after which the president personally called to reconcile with the journalist.
‘As a former physician to three Presidents of the United States, I know what it takes mentally and physically to execute the duties of Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,’ Jackson told Fox News of his letter.
A group of 38 House Republican co-signed a letter to Joe Biden, his physician and Dr. Anthony Fauci, demanding that the president take a cognitive test and release the results to the American people. The letter was led by Rep. Ronny Jackson, who was Trump’s physician
‘Joe Biden has continually proven to me and to the world that something isn’t right.’
President Biden’s health battles have been well-documented.
He suffered two brain aneurysms in 1988 while vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, which went to Michael Dukakis. He had surgery to treat the life-threatening conditions.
He also had a heart condition which makes the muscle beat too fast, causing dizziness and confusion — known as atrial fibrillation.
As America’s oldest President, risk factors that come naturally with age are also a concern. The chance of dementia doubles every five years after age 65, and one in six people have it by age 80.
Biden’s also experienced accidents since becoming president, including falling while climbing up the stairs of Air Force One in March.
Last November he suffered hairline fractures in his food when playing with one of his dogs and had to wear a protective boot for weeks.
Trump took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment in 2018 and got a perfect 30 out of 30 score. The purpose of the test is to assess mild cognitive impairment or early signs of dementia
