Current:Home > BackBiden gets annual physical exam, with summary expected later today-InfoLens
Biden gets annual physical exam, with summary expected later today
View Date:2024-12-23 11:44:17
Washington — President Biden visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday for his annual physical exam, and the results are sure to be closely watched as the 81-year-old president seeks reelection.
Mr. Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. history and would be 86 by the end of a second term, should he win one. After his last physical, performed in February 2023, doctors declared Mr. Biden "healthy, vigorous" and "fit" to handle his White House duties.
But voters are approaching this year's election with misgivings about Mr. Biden's age, having scrutinized his gaffes, his coughing, his slow walking and even a tumble off his bicycle.
"I'm going to get my physical," Mr. Biden told reporters as he left the White House. He was at Walter Reed for about two and a half hours, and the White House statement said a summary of the physical would be released later Wednesday.
Former President Donald Trump, 77, is the favorite to lock up the Republican nomination later this month, which would bring him closer to a November rematch against Mr. Biden. Trump was 70 when he took office in 2017, which made him the oldest American president to be inaugurated, until Mr. Biden broke his record by being inaugurated at 78 in 2021.
A recent special counsel's report investigating Mr. Biden's possession of classified documents repeatedly derided his memory, calling it "hazy," "fuzzy," "faulty," "poor" and having "significant limitations." It also noted that Mr. Biden could not recall defining milestones in his own life such as when his son Beau died or when he served as vice president.
But addressing reporters the evening of the report's release, the president said "my memory is fine" and grew visibly angry as he denied forgetting when his son died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.
Mr. Biden's last physical showed that the president had a lesion removed from his chest over the previous year, but the results then otherwise largely matched the findings after Mr. Biden's previous exam in November 2021. That report said his occasional coughing was due to acid reflux, while his stiffened gait was the result of spinal arthritis, a previously broken foot and neuropathy in his feet.
Mr. Biden had a colonoscopy in 2021, in which a 3 millimeter "benign-appearing polyp" was identified and removed.
In 1988, he had surgery to repair two brain aneurysms, which are weak bulges in arteries, and one of them leaking. Mr. Biden has never had a recurrence, his doctor said, citing a test in 2014 that examined his arteries.
Many Americans, including Democrats, have expressed reservations about Mr. Biden seeking a second term during this fall's election. Only 37% of Democrats say Mr. Biden should pursue reelection, down from 52% before the 2022 midterm elections, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Polls have shown similar reluctance about Trump too, however, and that hasn't stopped either from closing in on their party's nominations.
Mr. Biden won Michigan's Democratic primary handily on Tuesday, but an "uncommitted" campaign organized by activists disillusioned with the president's handling of the war in Gaza far surpassed the 10,000-vote margin by which Trump won Michigan in 2016. That was a goal set by organizers and it was seen as a potential source of embarrassment for the Biden reelection campaign.
veryGood! (99855)
Related
- Mississippi rising, Georgia falling in college football NCAA Re-Rank 1-134 after Week 11
- WEOWNCOIN: Ethereum—The Next Generation Platform for Smart Contracts
- Russia strikes Odesa, damaging port, grain infrastructure and abandoned hotel
- A Taiwan golf ball maker fined after a fatal fire for storing 30 times limit for hazardous material
- Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation
- Horoscopes Today, September 23, 2023
- Residents prepare to return to sites of homes demolished in Lahaina wildfire 7 weeks ago
- Florida sheriff asks for officials' help with bears: 'Get to work and get us a solution'
- Military veteran gets time served for making ricin out of ‘curiosity’
- Toddler and 2 adults fatally shot in Florida during argument over dog sale, authorities say
Ranking
- Rita Ora Says Liam Payne “Left Such a Mark on This World” in Emotional Tribute
- WEOWNCOIN: The Security of Cryptocurrency and Digital Identity Verification
- EU commissioner calls for more balanced trade with China and warns that Ukraine could divide them
- QB Joe Burrow’s status unclear as Rams and Bengals meet for first time since Super Bowl 56
- Charles Hanover: A Summary of the UK Stock Market in 2023
- Trump criticized by rivals for calling 6-week abortion ban a terrible thing
- Wait, who dies in 'Expendables 4'? That explosive ending explained. (Spoilers!)
- AI Intelligent One-Click Trading: Innovative Experience on WEOWNCOIN Exchange
Recommendation
-
4 arrested in California car insurance scam: 'Clearly a human in a bear suit'
-
On the run for decades, convicted Mafia boss Messina Denaro dies in hospital months after capture
-
Judge asked to decide if Trump property valuations were fraud or genius
-
WEOWNCOIN: The Fusion of Cryptocurrency and Global Financial Inclusion
-
When do new 'Yellowstone' episodes come out? Here's the Season 5, Part 2 episode schedule
-
Biden tells Zelenskyy U.S. will provide Ukraine with ATACMS long-range missiles
-
South Korea breezes through first day of League of Legends competition in Asian Games esports
-
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills to enhance the state’s protections for LGBTQ+ people