Ronny L. Jackson, a former White House physician who served under Barack Obama and most recently Donald Trump, raised questions about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s mental health on Tuesday, The Washington Times reported.
Although the former doctor noted that he is no longer practicing medicine, he said his concerns are those of a “citizen” worried about the former vice president’s fitness.
“I’ve watched Joe Biden on the campaign trail and I’m concerned that he does not have the mental capacity, the cognitive ability, to serve as our commander-in-chief. He routinely gets lost in the middle of a thought and can’t recalibrate,” he said.
Jackson later reaffirmed that he is mainly expressing his concerns as an average American.
“I never took care of Vice President Biden. I’m not trying to remotely diagnose him with anything. I’m saying it as a concerned citizen. We can all see. … something’s going on here. He is having some extremely bad days.”
In response to Jackson’s comments, Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates dismissed the claims and pointed to the first debate. Per The Inquisitr , Fox News host Tucker Carlson called the Republican Party’s focus on Biden’s alleged cognitive decline a mistake and noted that the Democrat appeared to be healthy during his performance at the first debate.
As reported by The Washington Post , former Obama administration officials previously expressed a sense of betrayal over Jackson’s reciting of Trump’s “baseless conspiracy theories” directed at Obama, including claims that the former president attempted to thwart the real estate mogul’s attempts at becoming head of state.
“His comments yesterday and today leave me confused, angry, and heartbroken,” Alyssa Mastromonaco, Obama’s one-time deputy chief of staff, tweeted in reference to his remarks.
Jackson was notably nominated for secretary of Veterans Affairs by Trump. However, he later withdrew the nomination due to allegations about his personal behavior while heading the White House medical unit. The former physician is currently making a play for a seat representing Texas in the House of Representatives.
In the wake of Trump’s stint at Walter Reed Medical center for coronavirus, the Republican Party has again begun to take aim at Biden’s psychological health. With less than one month until Election Day, the GOP released an ad highlighting Biden’s purported claim to have taken a cognitive test and subsequent denial of ever taking one. According to the clip, his conflicting comments are linked to memory loss.
