President Joe Biden was examined by his doctor in the days following CNN’s presidential debate last week, the White House told CNN – despite the White House spokesperson having said Wednesday that the president has not undergone any medical examination since his medical examination in February.
“A few days later, the president was seen to check his cold and he was recovering well,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said.
CNN asked Karine Jean-Pierre at the White House press briefing on Wednesday whether the president had undergone “any medical tests” since his February physical, and the press secretary responded, “We’ve been able to talk to his doctor about it and it’s a no.”
A White House official added that when Biden was seen by his doctor after the debate, it was a “brief exam” and not a “medical exam.” CNN did not ask Jean-Pierre on Wednesday whether Biden had had another medical exam since February, but rather any medical exam.
Policy Initial reports said Biden told more than 20 Democratic governors at a private meeting Wednesday night that he had undergone a medical examination after last week’s debate and was doing well.
The White House’s explanation Thursday that Jean-Pierre said Biden had not had a medical exam since February was because she was drawing a distinction between the president being examined by his doctor and receiving a formal “physical exam” does not appear to explain a different exchange at the same briefing Wednesday.
A journalist asked Jean-Pierre to clarify whether the president had been examined by his doctor around the debate given that he had a cold.
“He was going to the debate, the doctor was with him, he had a cold, he is 81 years old. Doesn’t the doctor examine him?” the journalist asked.
“He hasn’t been seen by the doctor. It’s a cold, guys. It’s a cold,” she said. “I know it affects everyone differently. We’ve all had colds, so no, he hasn’t been seen by the doctor.”
CNN has asked the White House for an explanation.
Questions Questions about Biden’s fitness for office and ability to run for a second term have been rife since his surprisingly shaky performance in CNN’s presidential debate last week.
CNN reported Thursday that Biden privately acknowledged to an ally earlier this week that the next few days are crucial to whether he can salvage his reelection bid. The White House and his campaign have insisted the president has no plans to end his campaign.
Asked about concerns about Biden’s age, his top advisers have repeatedly and emphatically cited his busy international travel schedule as examples of his vitality and ability to do his job at 81.
The president’s new explanation this week, that he performed poorly in this week’s debate because of the grueling overseas trip before the debate – despite having spent nearly two weeks in the United States before facing Donald Trump – has undermined that argument.
At Tuesday’s White House briefing, Jean-Pierre did not mention travel fatigue and jet lag as factors in Biden’s poor debate performance. On Wednesday, pressed by CNN to explain why she did not mention those issues, she blamed her attention on Biden’s cold.
“I was so focused on the call, on the cold, and that’s what I leaned into and talked about, but yeah, his schedule had something to do with it. It was the schedule and the cold. And I did – I was aware of it yesterday,” she said.
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