White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre appeared frustrated by reporters asking about Joe Biden’s mental fitness Tuesday, with one reporter questioning whether he’d undergone brain scans following his abysmal debate last week.
“After the debate, did the president get examined by a doctor or did he get a neurological scan?” a reporter asked the press secretary.
“A neurological scan?” Jean-Pierre repeated in disbelief, before going on to claim the debate was just an off-night for Biden.
REPORTER: Did Biden get a “neurological scan” after the debate?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Uhhh, well, see… pic.twitter.com/gilErASDtw
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 2, 2024
“Look, what I can say is that, just to take a step back. It was a bad night. We understand that it was a bad night,” she said.
Circling back to the question, Jean-Pierre added Biden has received “regular annual physicals,” but did not confirm or deny any recent brain scans.
Elsewhere during the press briefing, Jean-Pierre had to contend with a reporter comparing Biden to an ailing grandparent.
A dejected Karine Jean-Pierre flails as a reporter compares Biden’s obvious cognitive decline to witnessing the decline of an ailing grandparent pic.twitter.com/7oANniausi
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 2, 2024
Reporters also directly asked if Biden has “Alzheimer’s, any form of dementia, or degenerative illness that may cause these sort of lapses.”
“Does President Biden, at 81 years old, have Alzheimer’s, any form of dementia, or degenerative illness that may cause these sorts of lapses?”
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: “No” pic.twitter.com/g6vv6HEhtS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 2, 2024
The embattled press secretary insisted behind the scenes Biden is “strong” and “resolute,” and definitely not facing “accelerating” degenerative brain functions.
Karine Jean-Pierre claims Biden is actually “strong” and “resolute” behind the scenes — not facing an “accelerating” cognitive decline pic.twitter.com/IDeFRCFKXx
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 2, 2024
CNN: The motivation behind that press conference was clear because KJP said it: we want to turn the page. She said it 3 times.
The page is not turning because there was a lack of answers to the critical question being asked: What happened? pic.twitter.com/odPTT5fuy0
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) July 2, 2024
The press’s queries over Biden’s mental fitness come as a neurosurgeon confirmed he sees the 81-year-old president exhibiting signs of mild Parkinson’s disease dementia.
Meanwhile, party leaders like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now appear to be keen on replacing Biden on the Democrat ticket before November.
Watch KJP’s press conference in full: