Former White House physician and current Republican Congressman Ronny Jackson has called for President Joe Biden’s immediate resignation, citing concerns over the president’s cognitive health. Jackson, who served as the personal physician for former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, expressed these views following Biden’s widely criticized debate performance on Thursday.
“This is a national security issue,” Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson told The Post after the debate. “As an American, I think he needs to step down and he needs to be immediately removed from office.”
Jackson, a Navy rear admiral who transitioned from medicine to politics, previously served as Obama’s personal physician from 2013 to 2016 and as Trump’s from 2016 to 2018. During the debate, Trump brought up Jackson’s name while discussing the cognitive capabilities of the presidential candidates.
Jackson pointed to Biden’s perceived confusion and stumbles during the debate as signs of a serious condition. “There is a condition. I don’t know what it is. I am not going to give him a diagnosis. It is more than just age. It is some type of cognitive disease,” Jackson said. “I don’t know if it’s Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, I don’t know what it is. There are a lot of diseases out there when folks get older which can cause cognitive decline.”
Jackson’s comments follow his previous calls for Biden to take a cognitive test, a request that the president has not fulfilled. “You aren’t going to hear me talk about cognitive tests anymore. He got one [Thursday] night in front of millions of viewers and he failed miserably,” Jackson told The Post.
In addition to urging Biden’s resignation, Jackson suggested that if Biden does not step down voluntarily, his cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment. This constitutional provision allows for the removal of a president who is deemed “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” with the vice president stepping in as acting president.
The debate between Biden and Trump, who are 81 and 78 years old respectively, has intensified public scrutiny over their mental acuity. Both candidates are the oldest to run for the presidency, and their cognitive health has been a recurrent topic in the media. During the debate, CNN moderators directly addressed the issue, further fueling the discourse.
“I took two tests, cognitive tests, I aced them, both of them as you know. We made them public. [Biden] took none. I’d like to see him take one,” Trump asserted on Thursday, casting doubt on Biden’s cognitive capabilities while Biden responded with a bemused expression.
Jackson defended Trump’s cognitive health, stating that he found no issues during his tenure as Trump’s physician. “Anybody can sit down and talk to Trump for hours on end; he’s very sharp, has an incredible memory. There has been no change whatsoever in his cognitive abilities since I have known him,” Jackson said.
The prospect of Biden serving until age 86, if re-elected, has prompted new concerns about his ability to handle the demands of the presidency. Biden’s shaky debate performance has intensified speculation within his circle about the viability of his re-election campaign. Despite these concerns, Biden’s team remains committed to his candidacy and has confirmed plans to participate in the upcoming ABC-sponsored debate in September.
In a move to support Biden and quell growing doubts, former President Obama took to social media on Friday, urging the public to view the debate performance in context. “Bad debate nights happen,” he stated in an X post, aiming to reinforce confidence in Biden’s campaign.
