During the State of the Union on Thursday night, President Joe Biden shared a jest with Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), expressing that there are times when he jokingly wishes he were “cognitively impaired” while serving as commander in chief.
According to recent Quinnipiac polling, a substantial 64 percent of voters doubt Biden’s mental fitness.
Following the State of the Union address, Biden made the remark to Nadler on the House floor, in response to Nadler’s assertion that the president’s assertive and partisan speech dispelled rumors regarding his mental acuity.
Jerry Nadler: No one's gonna call you cognitively impaired now
— Noah (@noahmtweets) March 8, 2024
Biden: I kinda wish sometimes I was cognitively impaired 💀 pic.twitter.com/W8izB1m9ao
During the president’s annual physical examination, White House physician Kevin O’Connor diagnosed Biden with neuropathy in his feet and a stiffened gait.
His health challenges may provide insight into his struggles with maintaining balance. In 2023 alone, Biden experienced at least five incidents where he tripped, stumbled, or fell.
Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at George Washington University, has suggested a potential correlation between Biden’s physical health and his cognitive function.
“Some neurologists have mentioned to me that this difficulty with mobility—feeling as though your feet are stuck to the ground—could be more indicative of conditions like fluid buildup in the brain or inadequate blood flow to certain brain regions,” he recently explained to Fox News. “I’m not implying that he has these conditions; I haven’t conducted an examination. However, we haven’t seen any brain imaging, such as an MRI, and there hasn’t been any cognitive testing.”
Siegel added, “The American public is raising questions about his cognitive capabilities due to the frequent instances of memory lapses.”