A prominent former White House physician has gone public with detailed observations about President Joe Biden's cognitive state spanning several years.
According to Daily Mail, Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served as White House physician under Barack Obama and Donald Trump, claims he noticed clear signs of Joe Biden's mental decline as early as 2019.
Jackson, now a Republican congressman from Texas, provided specific examples of Biden's cognitive deterioration, including confusion, disorientation, and difficulty with basic tasks like name recall. The former physician emphasized that these symptoms were evident during Biden's candidacy and have progressively worsened throughout his presidency.
The medical professional turned politician served in the White House medical unit starting under George W. Bush in the mid-2000s before becoming physician to the president from 2013 to 2018. During this time, he worked closely with both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Jackson's concerns about Biden's mental state began during the 2019 presidential campaign, where he observed a combination of cognitive and physical decline symptoms.
Rep. Jackson described Biden's condition as displaying what he called "the whole package" of age-related decline. This included physical manifestations such as a shuffling walk and stiff gait, alongside cognitive issues like confusion and disorientation. These observations were made public as Biden's term drew to a close with just 11 days remaining.
The former White House physician emphasized that these signs were visible to anyone paying attention, stating to DailyMail.com:
I started talking about this in 2019 when I was running for office and when he was candidate Joe Biden. It was the cognitive stuff combined with the physical stuff. The way he shuffled when he walked, the stiff gate. He was confused. He had that blank, thousand-yard stare. He would forget the simplest things, you know, people's names.
The allegations of Biden's cognitive decline gained official credibility through a Justice Department review published in February 2024. The report, authored by special counsel Robert Hur, characterized Biden as an "elderly man with a poor memory" who demonstrated "diminished faculties in advancing age."
These official findings aligned with growing public concern about Biden's mental state, which came to a head during a presidential debate with Trump in June. The debate performance was widely considered disastrous, leading to plummeting poll numbers and ultimately contributing to Biden's decision to withdraw from his reelection campaign weeks later.
Jackson particularly criticized those in Biden's inner circle, including current White House physician Kevin O'Connor, for allegedly concealing the president's condition. He accused O'Connor, who previously worked under Jackson during the Obama administration, of prioritizing political ambitions over the president's and country's wellbeing.
Jackson's revelations come at a crucial time as Biden completes his final days in office. The former White House physician expressed ongoing concern about the implications of having a cognitively impaired president, especially given the current global political climate.
The situation has prompted calls for an investigation into how Biden's condition was managed and concealed by his administration. Jackson emphasized the need for transparency and accountability to prevent similar situations in the future, pointing to historical precedents of presidential disability being hidden from the public.
The controversy has sparked broader discussions about age limits and cognitive testing for high-ranking government officials. These conversations could potentially influence future political campaigns and presidential fitness evaluations.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician, provided comprehensive observations of President Joe Biden's cognitive decline, which he first noticed in 2019 during Biden's presidential campaign. A Justice Department report later validated his concerns and Biden's poor debate performance, ultimately leading to the president's withdrawal from reelection. The revelations have triggered calls for investigation into the administration's handling of Biden's condition and sparked discussions about implementing stricter protocols for evaluating presidential fitness.
