Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician, believes President Biden’s press conference performance Thursday raises questions about his fitness for office.
The Texas congressman said Friday that Biden’s behavior at his first solo press conference ‘should concern every American who wants to know that their president is fit for duty and in control,’ Fox News reported.
‘The president of the United States was armed with a picture book of friendly reporters to call on and with what appeared to be prepared answers, but he still could barely make it through his first press conference,’ Jackson said.
Jackson’s own fitness when he served as the presidential physician recently came under fire. The Department of Defense inspector general issued a scathing review of Jackson on March 3 concerning his time serving as the top White House doctor.
The report concluded Jackson made ‘sexual and denigrating’ comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy for drinking alcohol while on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication that prompted concerns from his colleagues about his ability to provide proper care, CNN reported.
Biden’s first formal news conference came 64 days after he took office, far longer of a wait than many of his predecessors, and he answered reporters’ questions for a little over an hour.
Among the notable developments were Biden’s announcements that he plans to seek reelection in 2024 with Vice President Harris as his running mate, he is open to revamping the filibuster to achieve passage of his policy priorities and he does not envision U.S. forces in Afghanistan next year, The Washington Post reported.
Joe’s Biden’s fitness for office has been questioned by Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, above, who says Biden’s behavior at his first solo press conference Thursday ‘should concern every American who wants to know that their president is fit for duty and in control.’ The news conference came 64 days after he took office
Biden, 78, drew attention with a physical misstep last week, stumbling multiple times and falling as he boarded Air Force One
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki avoided questions about whether the president was examined by a doctor after his fall
Jackson and other Republicans were critical of the president’s first official meeting with the news media.
‘If President Biden cannot handle questions from his cheerleaders in the White House press corps, then it is concerning to think about how he represents the American people when speaking to foreign leaders,’ Jackson said.
Biden, 78, drew attention with a physical misstep last week, stumbling multiple times and falling as he boarded Air Force One. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki avoided questions about whether the president was examined by a doctor afterward.
Jackson said Biden’s performance should concern every American who wants to know that their president is fit for duty and in control.’
The Department of Defense inspector general issued a review of Jackson’s service as the top White House physician, concluding the former Rear Admiral made ‘sexual and denigrating’ comments about a female subordinate, violated the policy for drinking alcohol while on a presidential trip and took prescription-strength sleeping medication
Jackson claimed the report was politically motivated and brought out old allegations because of his support for former President Donald Trump, who backed Jackson’s 2020 congressional bid
The investigation of Jackson, who sits on the House Armed Services subcommittee overseeing military personnel, was launched in 2018 and examined allegations dating back to his time serving during the Obama and Trump administrations.
On a presidential trip to the Philippines in April 2014, four witnesses who traveled with then-President Barack Obama said Jackson became intoxicated and made inappropriate comments about a female medical subordinate, the report said.
Two years later in Argentina, two witnesses said they saw Jackson drinking a beer while he was serving as the physician to the president and in charge of providing medical care for a presidential trip, despite regulations prohibiting him from drinking for 24 hours before the President’s arrival until two hours after he left.
The report also detailed a series of incidents under Obama and former President Donald Trump in which Jackson lost his temper, cursing at subordinates.
Jackson claimed the report was politically motivated, saying the inspector general ‘resurrected’ old allegations against him because he refused to ‘turn my back on President (Donald) Trump,’ who was a vocal supporter of his 2020 congressional bid.
Jackson, who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral, told CNN he rejected ‘any allegation that I consumed alcohol while on duty.’
