After President Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, two doctors shared thoughts with Fox News Digital about what this means in terms of Biden’s ongoing cognitive health.
Looking back, some experts believe the path to Biden’s dropout began with what was widely described as a disastrous debate performance in late June, during which the president seemed to display an unclear train of thought and a lack of coherence.
“President Biden has shown signs of cognitive impairment for many years,” Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon who specializes in cognitive function, told Fox News Digital on Sunday. He has not treated Biden or advised him.
“It is medically probable that when he took office in 2020, he was afflicted by mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a gateway syndrome to Alzheimer’s disease and potentially Parkinsonism (not necessarily Parkinson’s disease itself),” Osborn said.
“And he has only deteriorated since then, as is typical of those with neurodegenerative diseases.”
Given signs of his “ailing cognitive status, President Biden’s decision to step down from the race seems prudent,” said Osborn, expressing his professional opinion.
“In my opinion, he is unfit to run the country and is unsuitable for his duties as commander-in-chief,” he said.
“By stepping down, President Biden can prioritize his health and potentially mitigate further cognitive decline, while also ensuring the leadership role is filled by someone fully capable of handling the demanding responsibilities of the position.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, said he believes Biden’s decision may be best for the president’s health.
“The stress of the race could have definitely made cognition worse — but it will progress anyway if there is a cognitive issue, and fitness is a big concern,” the doctor told Fox News Digital on Sunday. (Siegel has said on multiple occasions that he has not examined or treated the president and that he cannot make any definitive diagnoses.)
Osborn also emphasized that remaining in the presidential race could have been “detrimental” to Biden’s mental and physical health.
“Chronic stress releases cortisol, the dominant stress hormone of the body, which can negatively impact the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, leading to further deterioration,” Osborn told Fox News Digital.
“In my opinion, he is unfit to run the country and is unsuitable for his duties as commander-in-chief.” — Neurosurgeon Dr. Brett Osborn
“Chronic stress releases cortisol, the dominant stress hormone of the body, which can negatively impact the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, leading to further deterioration,” Osborn told Fox News Digital.
Biden’s past brain surgeries could also have affected his cognitive function, according to Osborn.
“It is likely that the combination of the two brain surgeries and his [possible] neurodegenerative diseases, plus the added stress of the Oval Office, have markedly accelerated the deterioration of his already ailing brain,” he said.
“Another term [was] not even a consideration, in my opinion. By 2028, he will categorically be a ‘nursing home patient.’”
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