What do doctors say about Biden’s cognitive condition? Experts give their opinion on the US president

President Joe Biden threw Democratic political pundits into a panic during his debate performance on 27 June. The first faceoff between him and his predecessor vying to return to the White House, former President Donald Trump, was marred by his hoarse, whispering voice, fumbling of answers and some ‘senior moments’. It didn’t help that Biden has had a stutter his whole life and it was reported that he was fighting off a cold when he went to the debate.

Some prominent voices in the media like The New York Times editorial board called on Biden to step aside allowing “someone more capable to stand in his place to defeat Mr. Trump in November.” They did note that Trump’s performance itself “ought to be regarded as disqualifying” because “he lied brazenly and repeatedly about his own actions, his record as president and his opponent.”

Questions about the age and fitness of the two 2024 presidential contenders are nothing new as they have been front of mind since well before their campaigns were in full swing. Both presumptive nominees have made numerous verbal fumbles that have been picked up by media outlets and pundits looking to show that the candidate they want to lose is the one who is really the one that’s unfit.

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What do doctors say about Biden’s cognitive condition? Experts give their opinion on the US president

The fact that Biden, and Trump, are old is not in doubt by anyone and at least Biden himself will admit it. “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” the president told a rally Raleigh, North Carolina the day after the debate where he gave a performance many wished they would have seen the night before.

He went on to list all of the things he doesn’t do as well as he used to like walking, talking smoothly and debating. However, he said his age isn’t a matter in his ability to do his job and get things done.

Diagnosing a person’s mental capabilities or cognitive decline based on one event or behavior seen in the media and news is “very dangerous,” Allison Sekuler, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and at Baycrest Centre told The Washington Post in May. She told the outlet that memory and verbal slips could be the result of “depression, temporary dehydration or deficiency of vitamin B12.”

In fact, struggling to remember proper nouns is part and parcel of growing older because names are arbitrary labels according to research. Both Biden and Trump have done name swaps, mixed up dates, places and historical events or left their audience baffled about what they were talking about. These are often referred to as ‘senior moments’.

These aren’t necessarily a sign of a deeper problem with memory. “They’re articulation problems, mainly, and this just happens as you get older,” said professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California at Davis Charan Ranganath.

In order to determine if someone is suffering cognitive decline it is necessary to perform a thorough, typically holistic, neuropsychological evaluation which is “an inexact science,” says Ranganath. However, there is no requirement for presidential candidates to undergo a cognitive test nor psychological evaluation.

According to his physician, Kevin C. O’Connor, in a medical assessment released in February Biden is a “healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.” He did not take a cognitive test as Biden’s doctors didn’t feel that he needed one.

As for Trump, he often touts passing the cognitive tests he supposedly did while in the White House and “acing” a recent one. However, he has released very little actual information about those or his own physical health.