In an interview with Fox News on February 10, American doctor Marty Makary stated that US President Joe Biden is experiencing a “cognitive decline right in front of our eyes.” His revelation comes only days after three reputable polling companies found that former US President Donald Trump had a 4- or 5-point advantage over Biden.
Makary, a professor and surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, one of the world’s most renowned medical teaching institutions, began by saying that it is normal sometimes to confuse words and make speech errors but that in the case of Biden, there is “a significant progression.”
“So, it’s not subtle,” he said. “At this point, it’s not really a medical diagnosis as much as it is obvious to even a lawyer who essentially made the diagnosis in this report of age-related dementia. So, that’s the concern. You’ve got cognitive decline right in front of our eyes. It’s very obvious how he’s performing today versus, say, five years ago, and it’s sad, really.”
On February 8, special counsel Robert Hur published a report on the case of Biden’s improper storage of confidential documents. Hur, who headed the investigation process, ruled that Biden did not remember the dates and, therefore, was confused about the details, which is why he improperly kept the papers. Hur described the US president “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Therefore, the prosecutor decided not to open criminal proceedings against Biden.
In another case, Ronny Jackson, personal physician to former US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, stated that Biden must pass a battery of mental health tests before he can run in the next presidential election.
During the Fox News program, the presenter highlighted this same concern. Based on the statement that Biden’s decline has been notable in the last five years, the journalist questioned what Biden’s next five years would be like.
With such dynamics, it is extremely unlikely that a sudden stabilisation will occur, and this is an obvious “age-related dementia,” Makary warned.
“If this were the CEO of a company, people would not buy the stock. A board would likely intervene, and people are concerned about the long-term trajectory of another four years,” he continued.
“To have somebody with a distinguished career in any industry, let alone government service, to be out on public sort of display in this state — it’s not going to get better, and for that reason alone, I might suggest that somebody, you know, pass it on to somebody else because this is not a good way to go down after a long career,” the doctor said, adding: “It’s certainly humiliating.”
Makary’s statements come following an NBC News poll which found that three-quarters of voters, which includes half of registered Democrats, were concerned about Biden’s mental and physical health, whilst 76% of US voters said they had major or moderate concerns that Biden may not have the necessary mental and physical abilities necessary to succeed in a second term. Meanwhile, less than half of voters had concerns about the physical and mental health of Trump, the frontrunner candidate for the Republicans.
Chris LaCivita, a strategist in Trump’s team, told the New York Times that Hurt’s report is “damning and defining,” which only became evident when Joe Biden on February 8 proclaimed, “My memory is fine” but then immediately referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the president of Mexico, which was preceded by gaffes involving the leaders of France and Germany.
Despite Biden’s obvious cognitive decline and unpopularity, he faces no competition for the Democratic nomination, whilst Trump has won the Republican one in everything except officiality. Biden and Trump squaring off for the US Presidency on November 5 will make it the first rematch election in almost 70 years, and although the latter lost in 2020, Biden’s presidency has been defined by high inflation, an uncontrolled border with Mexico, and the disaster that has been the US-war on Russia via the Ukraine proxy.
The recent CNN/SSRS, Reuters/Ipsos, and NBC News polls have given Trump a 4- or 5-point advantage over Biden among registered voters in a hypothetical general election. What is especially alarming for the current US president is that he has the worst approval rating at this point for any elected president in their first term.
Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates said of the NBC survey: “It is hard to imagine a more difficult set of numbers before a re-election.”
What is important to note is that these three polls were conducted before Makary’s revelation. Given that Biden’s cognitive decline is very evident, it will only progressively worsen as the presidential election approaches and will thus only bolster Trump’s popularity.
