Former President Barack Obama’s White House doctor criticized former President Joe Biden‘s White House physician Kevin O’Connor for not giving Biden a cognitive test.
O’Connor conducted Biden’s last physical in the White House in February 2024, but didn’t order a cognitive test and labeled him a “healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male.” He also wrote that a neurological exam found he had no irregularities.
It’s unclear if Biden took a cognitive test while in office. His aides reportedly were confident he’d pass one, but were still worried it would bring up more questions surrounding his mental fitness.
“Sometimes those closest to the tree miss the forest,” Obama physician Jeffrey Kuhlman said in an interview with the Washington Post released Saturday. He added that the report should have covered Biden’s fitness for office as well as his health.
“It shouldn’t be just health, it should be fitness,” Kuhlman said. “Fitness is: Do you have that robust mind, body, spirit that you can do this physically, mentally, emotionally demanding job?” He later said that cognitive tests are not standard practice for presidents.
Biden stepped down from the Democratic nomination for president in 2024 after a disastrous debate performance where the former president appeared lost at times and struggled to put together coherent thoughts. His mental fitness for office was questioned, but the focus shifted to his then-vice president Kamala Harris and her new presidential bid.
Journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book Original Sin reinvigorated public discussion around Biden’s declining mental fitness and the apparent cover-up around it. Biden released news of his metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis while the book was being discussed, with observers questioning if he had the cancer while in office.
Kuhlman doesn’t believe O’Connor intentionally hid Biden’s declining mental fitness as some have suggested.
“I didn’t see that he’s purposely hiding stuff, but I don’t know that,” he said. “Maybe the investigation will show it.”
Special counsel Robert K. Hur’s 2024 classified documents report concluded that Biden’s memory was “significantly limited” and that he had “limited precision and recall.”
President Donald Trump recently ordered an investigation into Biden’s mental fitness while in office.
The investigation centers around “whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President.”
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Biden recently brushed aside Tapper’s new book and lingering questions about his mental fitness.
“You can see that I’m mentally incompetent, and I can’t walk, and I can beat the hell out of both of them,” he said.