Just weeks after claiming he has “been tested” for cognitive decline, Joe Biden is now saying he has not taken such a test.
Biden was asked if he has taken a mental exam during an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists, and he snapped at Errol Barnett, “No, I haven’t taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test?” before likening such a test to the journalist being tested for cocaine.
That answer was very different from one he gave in late June.
Biden was attempting to exit his speech-turned-press conference when Doug McKelway of Fox News asked if the presumptive Democrat nominee has been tested “for some degree of cognitive decline?”
“I’ve been tested, and I’m constantly tested,” Biden responded.
“All you’ve got to do is watch me, and I can hardly wait to compare my cognitive capability to the cognitive capability of the man I’m running against,” he said.
It’s not clear what type of cognitive assessment — if any — Biden has taken. Attempts by Breitbart News to obtain clarity from the Biden campaign have been ignored.
In December 2019, Biden released his medical exam, and one analyst observed a cognitive functioning test was missing.
Stuart Jay Olshansky, a professor of public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, reviewed Biden’s results and told the Washington Post, “The only test that hasn’t been done is the cognitive functioning test.”
He added, “But the fact that he’s on the campaign trail and meeting a rigorous travel and meeting schedule probably would suffice as a replacement for the formal test for cognitive functioning.”
Olshansky said cognitive tests are not typically required “unless problems are detected.”
President Trump has challenged Biden to take a cognitive assessment and release the results to the public.
“In a way he has an obligation to,” Trump told Dr. Marc Siegel on Fox News.
“Because I can tell you President Xi [Jinping of China] is sharp, [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin is sharp, [Turkish President Recep] Erdogan is sharp. You don’t have any non-sharp people that you’re dealing with,” Trump told Siegel.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays. Listen to segments on YouTube. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, and follow him on Parler.