With the upcoming 2024 presidential election, many celebrities and politicians have speculated whether President Joe Biden is competent enough to run for reelection. Dr. Phil McGraw shared his professional opinion on the president’s cognitive functioning in an interview Friday night.
The TV personality spoke with HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher ” host Bill Maher about the subject, which was brought up by Maher.
“If you got nothing — people that have nothing to hide, hide nothing,” McGraw responded. “So, why not?”
I’m beginning to like Dr. Phil a tiny bit more … was he red pilled? https://t.co/QOn9lQHUBM
— David Norris (@DavidNorris1960) March 2, 2024
McGraw elaborated on his answer when interviewed by TMZ.
“One of my specialties, back when I was in practice was brain and central nervous system and cognitive ability, cognitive agility, and these things can be defined objectively, such as memory, of course, and what’s called working memory, the ability to comprehend, put sentences together, express yourself,” said McGraw. “All of these things are very measurable.”
“And if you really had nothing to hide, I think you would hide nothing,” he added. “And if you’d had no problem with neurological deficits, wouldn’t you want to crow about that? Wouldn’t you want to have a transparent neurocognitive examination and show the world that was the case? That kills the issue in the election.”
Last month, Biden angrily defended his cognitive functioning after special counsel Robert Hur referred to him as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” He said that there was nothing wrong with his memory.
At the same time, the president mistook the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the president of Mexico.
He also mentioned on the campaign trail that he had spoken to German politician Helmut Kohl about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot at the G7 meeting in 2021. That was great and all, but Kohl died in 2017. German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the meeting.
Days before that mishap, Biden confused two French leaders, mistaking French President Emmanuel Macron with long-deceased French President Francois Mitterrand.
According to a new ABC/Ipsos poll, 86% of Americans believe that Biden is too old to serve another term, up 12% since last September.
Biden, 81, is the oldest sitting president in American history.
