White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre believes it unnecessary for President Joe Biden to submit to a cognitive test because he proves his abilities in how he operates on a daily basis.
The remark was seemingly made in the hopes that the American public does not have 24/7 access to video evidence to the contrary.
During a White House press briefing this week, a reporter pressed Jean-Pierre on whether or not the consideration of adding a cognitive test to Biden’s annual physical seems like a legitimate idea “particularly just on the heels of the special counsel report.”
Special Counsel Robert Hur’s damning report regarding Biden’s mishandling of classified documents included insight into how his team could not pursue charges because the President’s defense would portray him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
It included evidence that Biden “did not remember when he was vice president” or “when his son Beau died,” and exhibited “diminished faculties” and “significant limitations” during his interview with the special counsel.
Doocy: "If the Special Counsel says President Biden has got significant limitations on his memory, then who is helping him run the country?”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 9, 2024
WH press sec: "The president of the United States runs the country"
Doocy: "How can he be trusted with the nuclear codes?" pic.twitter.com/XT2WHIVKaD
Should Biden Take A Cognitive Test? White House Doesn’t Think So
A reporter asked Jean-Pierre about a potential cognitive test noting that polling shows that “many American people have concerns about” the President’s mental acuity.
But the press secretary balked and suggested the evidence of his being mentally fit for duty is in his daily functions.
“I’m just going to say what the — what (White House) Dr. (Kevin) O’Connor — it’s kind of a — what he said to me about a year ago when the report came out last year, obviously, on his physical, which is the President proves every day how he operates, how he thinks — right?” she replied.
“By dealing with world leaders, by making really difficult decisions on behalf of the — the American people, whether it’s domestic, whether it’s national security,” Jean-Pierre continued. “And so, he shows it every day on how he thinks, how he operates.”
BREAKING: White House confirms Biden will not take a cognitive test as part of his upcoming physical exam.
— Financelot (@FinanceLancelot) February 13, 2024
Biden will be first U.S President in history to refuse a cognitive test. pic.twitter.com/q11OkJHxEP
Jean-Pierre then launched into a strong defense of President Biden when asked about the cognitive test again.
“I have known this president since 2009,” she said. “I — he is not just my — my boss, but, you know, he’s also some- — a mentor to me. And I spent sometimes countless hours with him, whether it’s in the Oval Office, whether it’s on the road.”
“And I believe, for me — you’re asking me my personal opinion — he is sharp,” she added. “He is on top of things.”
RELATED: Former Democrat Congressman: It’s Time To Talk About Replacing Biden
Keeps Seeing Dead People
Suggesting the American people essentially just “go to the tape” when trying to determine the mental acuity of a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” is certainly an interesting approach.
Especially following a week in which President Biden responded to the special counsel report by claiming to have spoken to two world leaders in 2021 even though they had died many years earlier, referring to Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi as the “president of Mexico,” and saying that he represents red and “green” states.
You needn’t go back very far to see he’d likely struggle with the test. But if you did go back a little further you’d see:
- In November of 2023, Biden talked about a conversation he had with “Deng Xiaoping in the Himalayas” when he was VP. Xiaoping died in 1997.
- In June of 2023, Biden wrapped up a speech with, “God save the Queen, man.” Queen Elizabeth II had died almost a year before the comment.
- In October of 2022, Biden claimed he once “spoke” to the inventor of insulin — who died before the President was born.
- In September of 2022, Biden asked if deceased Rep. Jackie Walorski — who had passed away in a tragic car accident just a month earlier — was in the audience: “Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?”
Some social media users suggest that by refusing to take a cognitive test, President Biden is essentially admitting to a problem, much like a person pulled over for DWI who refuses a breathalyzer.
An NBC News poll shows that three-quarters of voters, including half of Democrats, say that they have concerns about Biden’s mental and physical health.
If President Biden were to win re-election, he would be closer to 90 – 86 years old – at the end of a second term. As bad as things are right now? They’d be exponentially worse at that point.
Former President Donald Trump is reported to have taken the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) which he says he “aced.”
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