Former White House Doctor, Others, Call on Biden to Take Cognitive Test

(USA Features) Texas GOP Rep. Ronnie Jackson, a retired Navy admiral and former long-serving White House physician, is calling on President Joe Biden to take a cognitive test following some observable mental lapses during this week’s overseas trip.

“We can’t sit on this any longer,” Jackson told Fox News host Sean Thursday night, citing Biden’s “embarrassing” performances at the G7 and NATO summits.

Jackson’s comments follow a letter he and other Republicans sent to the president requesting the exam.

The letter, signed by 13 colleagues, expresses “concern” with Biden’s current cognitive state, citing several examples of apparent memory lapses.

They include Biden seeming to forget the name of his defense secretary, Lloyd Auston, him telling an Amtrak story with a timeline that didn’t add up, and blanking on the often-quoted first line of the Declaration of Independence.

“Unfortunately, your mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent over the past 18 months,” Jackson and the GOP colleagues wrote in a letter to Biden, the White House physician, and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“We encourage you to follow the example set by President Trump by undergoing a cognitive test as soon as possible and immediately making the results available for the American people,” they added in their letter.

White House officials responded that Biden would have a normal physical this year and would be transparent about the results, Fox News reported.

“The President is planning to have a checkup later this year, and the results will be released to the public,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told the network in May.

Former President Donald Trump reportedly scored a perfect 30 out of 30 during a cognitive test as part of his annual physical. Jackson announced the results in 2018 at a White House press conference, quipping that the former president might “live to be 200 years old.”

Though Jackson has called on Biden to take a similar test in the past, now he at least has the backing of several colleagues.

“I would argue that the American people don’t have that confidence in President Biden,” Jackson said in a statement.

“Given the precedent set and Biden’s clear mental impairment, I believe it is past time he undergo a cognitive test,” Jackson added.