Republicans Demand Biden Takes Cognitive Test: 'Mental Decline' Is 'More Apparent'
Lawmakers argue that Joe Biden's mental fitness is deteriorating
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Republican lawmakers are demanding that Democrat Joe Biden takes a cognitive test, arguing that his "mental decline" has now "become more apparent."
A group of almost 40 GOP lawmakers is calling on Biden, 79, to take the test.
The group argues that Biden should follow the example set by President Donald Trump, who took the same test to reassure voters while in office.
The Republican push for cognitive testing comes as recent polls have shown that Americans are unsure of Biden's mental fitness for office.
On Tuesday, former President Obama's White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) led a letter to Biden, signed by 37 of his GOP colleagues, expressing their "concern" with Biden’s "current cognitive state."
"My colleagues and I are again asking President Biden to immediately undergo a formal cognitive screening exam, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA)," Jackson said in a statement.
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"As a former physician to three Presidents of the United States, I know what it takes mentally and physically to execute the duties of Commander-in-Chief and Head of State," Jackson told Fox News.
"Joe Biden has continually proven to me and to the world that something isn’t right.
"The American people deserve to have absolute confidence in their President’s cognitive ability."
Jackson said Biden’s taking "the cognitive test will be an important first step" in reassuring Americans that the president is fit for office or "in identifying and properly treating symptoms of impairment that are consistent with a variety of cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, Parkinson’s, or multiple sclerosis."
"This is not a partisan issue. When I discussed taking a cognitive test with President Trump, he was eager to assure the American people and to put the fake news media’s stories to bed," the former presidential doctor wrote.
"Why won’t President Biden do the same?"
"We can only assume the worst if he doesn’t submit to the same standard that his own party demanded of the last Administration," he added.
"The precedent has been set."
In the letter, the lawmakers wrote that they "believe that, regardless of gender, age, or political party, all Presidents should follow the example set by former President Trump to document and demonstrate sound mental abilities."
"While you underwent your annual physical exam on November 19, 2021, you either did not face a cognitive test or those results were withheld from the public," they continued, adding that while the current physician to the president cleared Biden physically, the lawmakers "are worried about your mental abilities."
"The Alzheimer’s Association lists ‘changes in mood and personality,’ including being more ‘easily upset’ as one of ten signs of mental decline," they wrote.
"You displayed this type of mood change during a cabinet meeting on January 24, 2022, when you apparently did not know your microphone was on after finishing your opening remarks, and you called a White House reporter a ‘stupid son of a b----’ in response to a question he asked on inflation."
The lawmakers also pointed to Biden’s stumbling when trying to say how many Americans have received the booster shot.
They wrote that the slip-ups are "not just a recent trend," saying Biden’s "mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent over the past two years."
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Thirty-seven lawmakers joined Jackson on the letter, including Republican leadership members House Republican Conference chairwoman Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, GOP conference vice chairman Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Republican Study Committee chairman Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, as well as several members of the GOP Doctors Caucus.
The results of his annual physical, released in November, concluded that Biden is fit for duty, though it did not address whether he took a cognitive test.
