President Joe Biden was declared “fit for duty” by his doctor on Thursday after a final annual medical examination before he announces he will run for re-election in 2024, when he will be 82. .
After extensive testing, the report found some relatively minor problems, but said Biden was free of serious physical and neurological problems.
“President Biden is a healthy, strong, 80-year-old man, fit to successfully carry out the duties of the presidency, including chief executive, head of state and commander in chief,” said Biden’s physician, Kevin Oh. including,” Biden’s physician Kevin O. ‘Connor, said in a letter published by the White House.
“The President remains fit for duty, and fully discharges all his responsibilities without exception.”
Biden, the oldest US president ever, spent the morning completing a series of tests he began last year at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a presidential facility on the outskirts of Washington. is a complex with
He has not announced a re-election bid but is widely expected to do so soon, as the campaign kicks off. On the Republican side, the front-runner so far is former President Donald Trump, whom Biden defeated in a tumultuous 2020 election.
Biden is likely to build on his heavyweight political record after two years in which he steered the country through the Covid pandemic, ended the US war in Afghanistan and led Western nations to oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Collected.
However, questions about his age and the Republican Party’s continued perception that he is mentally incompetent will likely prove important during the campaign.
– healthy habits –
O’Connor’s letter paints a largely glowing picture of a president who benefits from healthy lifestyle habits.
“The president does not use any tobacco products, does not drink alcohol, and exercises at least five days a week,” the letter said.
Biden is six feet (1.83 m) tall and weighs 178 pounds (about 80.7 kg).
The report notes that Biden contracted Covid-19 in 2022 and then had a rebound infection, but when he was vaccinated and his symptoms improved, his symptoms were mild and he had “no Did not experience residual symptoms that could be considered ‘prolonged Covid’.
O’Connor said the two issues noted in the previous annual exam in November 2021 remain largely unchanged.
One is gastroesophageal reflux that causes him to cough frequently, and the other is a stiff gait due to “stiff and tears” in his spine.
“The president’s gait is still tight, but not much worse than last year,” O’Connor said.
“A very detailed neurological examination was again assuring that there were no findings that would suggest a cerebellar or other central nervous system disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending,” said Dr. consistent with lateral sclerosis.”
Referring to Biden’s “good time in the sun in his youth,” O’Connor wrote that the president has been regularly treated for localized, non-melanoma skin cancer.
“A small lesion on the President’s chest was removed today and sent for a conventional biopsy,” he said.
– Does age matter? –
As usual, Thursday’s physical was closely watched, with Democratic leaders insisting they would stand behind Biden if he ran again, but polls showed little enthusiasm among his voters. .
In a February Reuters/Ipsos poll, more than half of Democrats believe Biden is too old.
Republican Nikki Haley, 51, who just entered the 2024 race, called Wednesday for a mental fitness test for any elected official over the age of 75. That would also apply to Trump, 76, under whom she served as ambassador to the United Nations.
Asked in interviews about the age factor, Biden points to his accomplishments in office and says simply: “Look at me.”
During Biden’s last check-up, he underwent a colonoscopy under general anesthesia and handed over his powers to Vice President Kamala Harris for an hour and 25 minutes, making her the first woman in US history to briefly do so. Serve as Acting President.