A former White House physician, now Republican lawmaker, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), has declared President Biden’s mental fitness a “national security” concern.
“The article’s just documenting what I’ve been saying all along: he’s not fit to be the commander-in-chief,” Jackson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
“He’s got significant issues; he shouldn’t have the job. You know, it’s a national security issue for us.”
This statement follows a bombshell report by The Wall Street Journal, which cited interviews with 45 individuals, including congressional leaders and others who have met with Biden. They claimed that Biden “appears slower now” and has “both good and bad moments.”
Jackson, who previously served as the top White House physician for Presidents Obama and Trump, highlighted that some of the commentary in the report came from Democrats. “Most of those who said Biden performed poorly were Republicans, but some Democrats said that he showed his age in several exchanges,” the report noted.
Jackson speculated that this could begin a political manoeuvre against the 81-year-old President.
“The fact that it came out like this and is so well sourced tells me that this might be the left’s first attempt to start laying the groundwork to get rid of him,” Jackson said.
Since Biden took office in January 2021, Jackson has sent five letters to the White House urging Biden to take a cognitive test and publicize the results. All five letters have gone unanswered. “I don’t know if it does any good to send another letter at this point,” Jackson said. “They’ve ignored them all.”
In response to Jackson’s comments, White House spokesman Andrew Bates compared him to a character from “The Simpsons” known for questionable medical practices. “I’d refer Dr Nick Riviera to what Kevin McCarthy said about negotiating with President Biden when it was still fresh in his mind: ‘very professional, very smart. Very tough at the same time,'” Bates told Fox News Digital.
The Wall Street Journal’s report has prompted pushback from the White House and its allies, who dismissed it as a GOP-led hit piece. Bates emphasized Biden’s record, saying, “Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders, and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader with a deep record of legislative accomplishment.”
Recent polls have shown Biden’s age is a top concern for voters. A March New York Times/Siena College poll found that 61% of respondents who voted for Biden in 2020 agreed with the statement, “Joe Biden is just too old to be an effective president.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized the Journal’s report on social media, stating that it ignored Democratic testimonies and focused on Republican attacks. “Many of us spent time with [the Journal] to share on the record our first-hand experiences with [Biden], where we see his wisdom, experience, strength, and strategic thinking. Instead, the Journal ignored testimony by Democrats, focused on attacks by Republicans, and printed a hit piece,” Pelosi posted on X.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) also defended Biden, writing on X, “I made clear to the [Journal] regarding the January meeting on Ukraine that the President was absolutely engaged and ran that meeting in a way that brought everyone together. I’m not quoted—I wonder why.”