White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended President Joe Biden’s decision to not take a cognitive test, arguing that the demands of his job prove he doesn’t need one.
On Wednesday, Biden unexpectedly visited the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for an annual physical exam amid concerns regarding his mental and physical health as he campaigns for a second term in the White House.
Following the exam, a reporter questioned why a cognitive test was not a part of the routine exam that is given to most presidents.
“Why not just have his doctor administer the test and then the case closed?" the reporter asked.
In response, Jean-Pierre said"Folks need to understand that the president passes a cognitive test every day,” arguing that being the president of the United States is a mental health exam in itself.
“If you look at what a clinical cognitive test is – actually what it does – it is a 15-minute appointment that is administered by someone who, most of the time, people don’t actually know,” the Biden staffer said.
The president’s physician Kevin O’Connor released his report on Biden’s health, stating that he is robust and fit enough to hold office. The doctor noted that the 81-year-old president only suffers from seasonal allergies and obstructive sleep apnea.
“You think about the job growth, you think about the record small business action, you think about the bloom in that particular space of 16 million more small businesses have been created. You think about delivering historic investment that has been done by a president who has to deal with these issues every day, again, on a granular level and so his doctor, including the neurologist, do not believe that he needs one," Jean-Pierre said. “Every day. As he moves from one topic to another topic, trying to understand the granular level of these topics. You saw him talk about fighting crime today, tomorrow he is going to go to the border, next week he is going to give the State of the Union address. So we have that in mind. This is a very rigorous job and the president has been able to do this job every day for the past three years.”