A doctor threw off a Fox News segment for a brief moment at the weekend after anchor Anita Vogel suggested that US President Joe Biden had experienced mental decline while visiting London.
Ms Vogel commented on Mr Biden’s signing of a book of condolence at Lancaster House on Sunday when she said the Democrat had shown signs of “cognitive decline”.
The 79-year-old, who has faced similar claims from Republicans and his processor Donald Trump, had been filmed by television cameras asking his wife where they were going after signing the book of condelence in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death last week.
“So the president made some nice remarks their about his thoughts on the Queen and then he seemed confused as to what he was supposed to do next,” Ms Vogel said to Fox News viewers. “We’ve seen scenes like this before”.
Turning to a doctor who was a guest on the show, Nicole Saphier, Ms Vogel then asked: “As you observe the president, as a doctor, what do you see?”
“Well you know, that very small snippet right there could just be the fact that, obviously, his wife runs the show and he seems to always just look to her and ask, ‘Now what do I do?’” said Dr Saphier, who cast doubt on the anchor’s earlier comments.
She continued: “I don’t know if we can really draw any conclusions about his mental capacity there.”
Republican allegations surrounding Mr Biden’s mental health began during the 2020 election campaign when Mr Trump – himself aged 76 – challenged his then-opponent to an IQ test.
That came after the former president said he completed an assessment he described as “difficult” but included repeating words like “Person, woman, man, camera, TV”.
Mr Biden, whose doctors say does not show signs of ill health, wote a message describing the Queen’s reign as one of “enduring...devotion”, according to The Telegraph.
He said in a statement issued afterwards that he remembered the 96-year-old for being “decent, honourable, and all about service,” before attending the funeral service with First Lady Jill Biden on Monday with other world leaders.
