Biden to get annual physical, while former Obama doc is concerned for POTUS's health: 'He's not a young 80'
The former White House doctor warned that whatever comes out of Biden's physical, the public 'is not going to learn anything'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden is scheduled for his annual physical on Thursday, and a former doctor for President Barack Obama is skeptical about the 80-year-old leader's health.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Dr. David Scheiner pointed to observations of the president's movement and his medical history, predicting that even if Biden is in good shape to start 2023, this would not last through a second term should he win re-election in 2024.
"I don’t care if he’s in perfect health now — which, I can’t believe he’s in perfect health," Scheiner said. "He’s had too many things in his past history."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PRESIDENT BIDEN ADMITS THAT IT'S ‘TOTALLY LEGITIMATE’ TO QUESTION HIS AGE AND HEALTH
President Biden is scheduled for a physical examination on Thursday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Scheiner pointed specifically to Biden's aneurysms, for which he had surgeries in 1988.
"When you do work on the brain, there’s always a little damage done," Scheiner said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The doctor also recalled Biden's atrial fibrillation, stating that this "can sometimes throw off small strokes."
"They’re leaving a whole area of concern in my mind," he said.
A report following Biden's physical in November 2021 said a neurological exam did not show evidence that the president had had a stroke or any other central neurological or cerebellar disorders. Dr. Neal Kassell, who performed the surgery on Biden in 1988, spoke to Politico in 2019, saying "with absolute certainty that he had no brain damage."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIDEN AS OLDEST US PRESIDENT AT AGE 80: NATION DESERVES A ‘FULL NEUROLOGICAL ASSESSMENT’ OF HIM
A former doctor for President Barack Obama said President Biden is "not a young 80," and has aged noticeably. (Andrew Caballero)
Looking at Biden's current condition, Scheiner observed that the president appears noticeably older.
"It worries me that he is aging. If I look at him, he’s not a young 80," he said, specifically addressing how the president walks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The gait is not an insignificant factor," he said, claiming this provides "a peek into the whole physical, mental capability of a person."
Biden's walking ability was addressed in detail in the report following his November 2021 physical. White House physician Kevin O'Connor observed that Biden's "ambulatory gait is perceptibly stiffer and less fluid" than it had been a year prior. O'Connor said this was determined to mostly be due to spinal arthritis and recovery from a fractured foot, but that a neurological exam did show "mild peripheral neuropathy."
Responding to a Fox News Digital request for comment, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates directly lifted text from a November 2022 New York Times article on the president's health.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The New York Times spoke to 10 experts in aging to paint a picture of what the next six years might look like for a person of the president’s age. These experts have not examined or treated Mr. Biden, though they have looked at publicly available information, including a medical report issued by the White House last year, a day before his 79th birthday. Mr. Biden, these experts agreed, has a lot going in his favor," Bates and the Times both said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the public will learn the results of Biden's physical, stating, "We want to be transparent, want to make sure you have the information."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scheiner, however, is skeptical that there will be true transparency.
"You’re not going to learn anything," he predicted. "They sugarcoat these things."