White House attempts to ease concerns about President Joe Biden's health appeared to have hit a deadlock after the 81-year-old Biden and his deputy press secretary reportedly contradicted statements made by his spokesperson.
Biden met with more than two dozen Democratic governors on Wednesday to discuss his presidential campaign and told attendees he had undergone a medical check-up following his debate performance and was in good health, two people who attended the meeting said. Said Politico: In the first two press conferences following Biden's disastrous debate performance, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded questions about the 81-year-old Biden's health by attributing Biden's poor performance to a cold and subsequent jet lag. was denied Biden has not had any “medical checkups” since his February physical. (RELATED: White House aides report that Biden is showing classic symptoms of dementia)
“Has the president had any medical checkups since his last one in February?” CNN's MJ Lee asked during a press conference on Wednesday.
“We spoke to his doctor about it and the answer was 'no,'” Jean-Pierre replied.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates later said the president had been “evaluated for a cold a few days after the debate and is recovering well,” Lee said. report.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates confirmed that Biden visited a doctor a few days after last week's debate “to assess his cold” and that he was “recovering well.”
I asked the White House press secretary yesterday whether Biden had undergone any medical tests following his February physical, and she replied, “No.” https://t.co/qhNHlElUTf pic.twitter.com/GOUUiXhIoR
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) July 4, 2024
A White House official told Lee that the meeting with the doctor was a “quick check-up” and not a physical exam.
“My question yesterday wasn't whether he had another medical examination,” Lee said. Tweeted.
The talk that Biden had a cold started during his debate performance with former President Donald Trump. The president looked confused, pale, and stammered in his answers with a hoarse voice. Less than halfway through the debate, many media outlets claimed that the president had a cold and that it was affecting his performance.
Ahead of the debate, while Biden was holed up at Camp David, the president had been seeking medical attention for a cold, a senior administration official said. Said CBS News reported that Biden tested negative for COVID-19 during a medical appointment.
The February physical Jean-Pierre referred to was one in which the White House physician conducted a physical and then deemed Biden fit to serve. White House physician Kevin O'Connor said: I have written Biden, 81, remains “active” and able to carry out the duties of president, he said in public reports.
The White House blamed the cold weather for Biden's poor performance at the debate, but the president said afterward that he was tired from traveling to campaign events. Mentioned Another factor that hurt Biden's performance in the debate was jet lag caused by traveling to France, California and Italy about two weeks before the debate.
“I was concentrating on the call and all I was talking about was the cold, but certainly the president's schedule played a role — the schedule and the cold. And I was aware of that yesterday,” Jean-Pierre said of why the president's schedule wasn't mentioned earlier.
