Joe Biden, the oldest sitting president in American history, announced Wednesday that he was going for his routine medical examination, at a time when his ability to govern is raising doubts.
“I'm going (to Walter Reed hospital) for my medical examination
,” he told reporters as he left the White House.
This annual medical examination must be the last before the November election in which the 81-year-old Democrat is running.
The results of medical examinations carried out at this military hospital, located near Washington, will be published later today, the White House said.
In February 2023, his doctor Kevin O'Connor concluded that Joe Biden was
"in good health"
,
"vigorous"
and
"fit"
to fulfill his duties.
He then had a “small”
cancerous lesion removed
from his skin.
The Democrat is running for a second term, at the end of which he would be 86 years old if re-elected.
He is almost guaranteed to face his predecessor Donald Trump, 77, at the polling stations in November.
An “elderly man with a bad memory”
Between images of a president tripping on stairs and confusing remarks during speeches, Joe Biden's ability to govern until the end of a second term questions the American electorate and undermines his chances of re-election in november.
At the beginning of February, a special prosecutor charged with investigating a case of classified documents that the American president had in his possession gave up prosecuting him, arguing, among other things, that a jury would be reluctant to sentence an "
elderly man to the wrong memory"
.
The Biden camp then denounced “gratuitous”
and
“inappropriate”
comments
.
On Monday, during a television interview, he defended himself by claiming to be stronger
"than the other guy"
, Donald Trump, whom he accused of having forgotten the name of his wife Melania.
On November 20, the day Joe Biden celebrated his 81st birthday, the Republican published a short letter from his doctor affirming that he was in
“excellent”
health, having lost weight – without specifying how much – and that the results of his cognitive tests were
“exceptional”
.