President Joe Biden departed the White House Wednesday morning for Walter Reed where he will undergo his annual physical as voters raise concerns about the 81-year-old’s fitness for a second term.
The White House has faced constant questions over when Biden, the oldest president in history, would receive his exam ahead of the November 2024 presidential election.
‘I’m going to Walter Reed to get my physical’, Biden told reporters as he walked across the South Lawn to Marine One.
The White House said results will be released later Wednesday.
For months, polls have showed that a majority of Americans are doubtful that Biden can be effective through a second term, which would finish when he is 86 years of age.
President Joe Biden made a surprise departure from the White House Wednesday morning, telling reporters he was headed to Walter Reed to undergo his annual physical exam
President Joe Biden departed the White House residence Wednesday morning and climbed on board Marine One, as he flew to Walter Reed for his annual physical
During last year’s assessment by White House physician Kevin O’Connor, which was also released in February, the doctor said Biden remained ‘fit for duty.’
O’Connor said that Biden’s gait ‘remains stiff’ but said he remained ‘healthy’ and ‘vigorous.’
Each morning, Biden heads to a 45-minute workout with his physical therapist, who focuses on balance exercises to stop him from falling and to deal with his stiff gait, DailyMail.com has learned.
Last year’s physical also included ‘an extremely detailed neurologic exam,’ which found nothing ‘consistent with any cerebellar or central neurological disorder.’
‘He did not demonstrate any motor weakness, but a subtle difference in heat/cold sensation could be elicited,’ the 2023 letter added.
In November 2021, the president was put under so doctors could perform a routine colonoscopy and he briefly transferred power to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Beyond public opinion polls, Biden’s mental competency became a political issue earlier this month when Special Counsel Robert Hur, originally appointed by former President Donald Trump, released a report on his classified documents probe.
Hur wrote that a jury would probably conclude that 81-year-old Biden had ‘diminished faculties’ and was a ‘well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’
The report’s release compelled the president to hold an impromptu press conference.
Biden told reporters, ‘I know what the hell I’m doing! My memory has not gotten worse. My memory is fine. Take a look at what I have done since becoming president.’
‘No one thought I could pass any of the things I got passed. How did that happen? I guess I just forgot what was going on,’ the president added.
But before the end of his Q&A, Biden made a gaffe – referring to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the ‘president of Mexico.’
The president has also been plagued by physical spills, including falling off his bike during a trip to Rehoboth Beach in June 2022, tripping over a sandbag at a commencement ceremony in Colorado in June 2023 and falling up the stairs of Air Force One on a handful of occasions.