President Joe Biden reportedly told Democratic governors that he saw a doctor after his debate against former President Donald Trump last week.
According to Politico, Biden shared the news with more than 20 Democratic governors in a private meeting. At the meeting, he claimed that he underwent a medical checkup and “is fine,” according to three sources who spoke to the outlet (via Politico):
During an hour-long meeting prompted by intensifying concerns about his health and political viability, one governor asked Biden about his physical condition. The president mentioned having had a checkup in recent days and asserted that he remains in good health, knocking on wood for effect, according to two of those people, who were granted anonymity to describe a private meeting.
One person familiar with the president’s schedule told Politico that the doctor’s visit was due to lingering symptoms from a cold. The exam, they added, was “brief and did not include any major tests.”
Politico noted that Biden’s remarks to the governors came after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not answer questions from reporters about Biden’s health in the aftermath of the debate. Some of these questions were about Biden's health and inquiring if he would see a doctor.
“The president has regular annual physicals that we release in a thorough report,” she stated. “We’re going to continue to do that.”
At the meeting, some leaders expressed concern about Biden winning their states (via Politico):
Two Democratic governors — Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Janet Mills of Maine — expressed concern to Biden over whether he could still win their blue-leaning states, describing them as competitive, two of the people with knowledge of the discussion said. In 2020, Biden won New Mexico by 11 percentage points and Maine by 9 points.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates confirmed to The Hill that Biden saw a doctor in the days after last week’s debate to check in about his cold and is now “recovering well.”
In addition, Biden reportedly said in a radio interview that he “had a bad night” debating against Trump.
“I screwed up. I made a mistake. But I learned from my father, when you get knocked down, just get back up. And you know, we’re gonna win this election. We’re gonna just beat Donald Trump as much as we did in 2020,” he reportedly said.