NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE: Docs claim Joe Biden, 80, is too unfit for another term in office
WASHINGTON, DC: Medical experts are concerned about whether President Joe Biden, 80, is fit enough to serve another term. He has now launched his reelection campaign. During the President's first term, he was mocked for a number of embarrassing gaffes he made. He showed signs of disorientation, including falling off his bike in Delaware. On one occasion, he stumbled up the steps of Air Force One.
Biden's yearly physical exam reportedly found that he suffers from seven conditions, including a heart condition that makes the muscle beat faster than usual, causing dizziness and confusion. He has suffered two brain aneurysms.
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"If I was his geriatrician, I would discourage him from campaigning. I'd strongly advocate against it," Dr Elena Mucci, a geriatric doctor, and American College of Physicians member, told Daily Mail. "If you were to survey healthcare professionals, geriatricians, cardiologists, I don't think you will find a single physician who would say it's a good thing for an 86-year-old to with the symptoms he's demonstrated to us already to become a president, both for the sake of his own health and for the sake of his country."
Biden has suffered atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat, since 2003. He reportedly takes Eliquis, the blood thinner apixaban, to treat the illness. "If you open any medical book, one of the symptoms [of atrial fibrillation] is tiredness," Mucci said. "That will limit his activity, and not just limit his activity — he physically might not be able to perform all his duties. It's just impossible with these conditions at that age."
'The longer we live, the higher the chances of poor circulation'
Dr Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine physician in New York, said, "The increased risk is not only from the fibrillation but from secondary effects from the medicine. These people take blood thinners and when people take these drugs, they are at risk for internal bleeding or serious consequences from a fall."
According to Fischer, the falls become more severe as people get older. "[If] someone falls and hits their head or hips while on a blood thinner, there is more of a chance of a medical emergency than for people not on anticoagulants," he said. "A head injury when someone is an anticoagulant is potentially disastrous."
In Biden's latest health summary, it was found that he suffers from high cholesterol. Fischer said it is "a risk factor for a heart attack, a stroke or kidney disease." "The blood supply to the heart, kidney and brain slowly becomes impaired through the course of our lives. The longer we live, the higher the chances of poor circulation," he said.
"In a case like President Biden, there is a higher level of responsibility. He would be the oldest president in history, you couldn't be at the top of your game, in any profession. You can't fool Mother Nature. No one can, try though we may," Fischer added.
'I think Biden knows exactly what is going on'
Biden has never publicly addressed concerns about his health. In fact, he has dismissed claims that he is mentally ill and too old to be President. "Whether you're going to lose your presidency, or lose your driving license or lose your job, subjectively, you will be under-appreciating your symptoms, and not putting enough importance to those symptoms," Mucci said. "I think [Biden] knows exactly what is going on, but he's not openly acknowledged it because he doesn't want to lose that presidency."
Dr Dung Trinh, an internal medicine physician in California, has claimed Biden's health issues and age could lead to dementia. "As we get older, we lose around one percent of our brain volume per year," he said. "The risk of developing Alzheimer's for someone who's 70 versus the risk of developing Alzheimer's for someone who's 65 — that risk doubles in five years. If you're in your mid-80s, 85 or beyond, probably 30 to 40 percent of folks show some mild symptoms of cognitive decline."
A mental health expert in Delaware, Dr Todd Grande, said it was clear that Biden's "performance in the areas of reasoning and memory are impaired." "It's hard to imagine how he is fit to be president under these circumstances," Grande said.
'He won't be an effective leader'
Biden's physician, however, said in a five-page report in February that he remains a "healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency." Biden's constant gaffes, however, have persisted.
Mucci believes this is a sign of deterioration. "It's very difficult to say what we're dealing with, is this just healthy aging? Or is this mild cognitive impairment, which is pre-dementia And time can tell you," she said. "If he's having age-related changes, there will be a continuous and slow decline. It's inevitable. However, if he's experiencing mild cognitive impairment, the memory decline will be much faster. We know that about 10 to 15 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment actually develop dementia."
"My personal and professional opinion is probably no [he won't be an effective leader]," she continued. "The reason being it's inevitable that [he] will be in a position where very important decisions have to be made in the blink of an eye, in stressful situations, in a very short period of time."
"Someone who is in that position that you are 80 plus and you are undergoing all these age-related changes to the brain, you just might not have that brain processing speed to analyze, process and digest the information quickly enough to come up with the important decisions. That's not been ageist, this is just common sense," she added. "He might not have dementia, he might not have mild cognitive impairment. This could be all-natural aging, but someone of that status has to be sharp. Someone in his position, I don't think it's acceptable [to be forgetting things]."
Times when Joe Biden sparked concerns
Biden has been trolled for several gaffes he has made over the months. Some have expressed concerns over his mental and physical health. In one instance, Biden used the word 'selfishness' instead of 'selflessness' while talking about American troops. “We’ll always honor the bravery and selfishness — selflessness of the — and sacrifices of the Americans who served, including my son, Major Beau Biden, who was stationed in Iraq for a year,” he had said. Shortly before this incident, he stunned listeners in Israel as he spoke of the “honor of the Holocaust”, before correcting himself and saying, "horror of the Holocaust".
Biden asked a crowd gathered for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in Washington, DC last year where late Representative Jackie Walorski was located. Biden thanked lawmakers for working to end hunger in the US by 2030. Interrupting his own remarks, Biden said, "Jackie, are you here?" He added, "Where's Jackie? She must not be here." Notably, Biden had previously mourned Walorski’s death in a car crash last month. He had also lowered the White House’s flags for two days in her memory.
Last year, Biden also sparked concerns when he appeared to get lost while walking off stage on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. The incident took place when he was walking off a stage following his remarks at the Global Fund Conference. The President began walking off as the audience applauded, but suddenly stopped halfway and looked around, visibly confused. Biden then seemed to ask people who were on the ground how he was supposed to get off the stage.