Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) said Sunday he will send a letter requesting that President Biden undergo drug testing before and after Thursday’s debate against former President Trump.
Jackson, who served as Trump’s doctor and medical adviser in the White House, also claimed in a Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures” interview with Maria Bartiromo, without evidence, that Biden has been taking “performance-enhancing drugs.”
“I will demand on behalf of the many millions of concerned Americans right now that [Biden] submit to a drug test before and after this debate, specifically looking for performance-enhancing drugs,” Jackson said. “Because we see – we saw recently in his State of the Union address – that a Joe Biden emerged who was nothing like what we have seen on a day-to-day basis for the last 3.5 years. ”
“And there’s really no way to explain it other than he was on something, they gave him medication,” he continued.
Biden’s State of the Union performance was praised by Democrats, with supporters saying the president appeared lively and energetic as he continues to battle concerns about his age.
Jackson noted that he had sent five previous letters to the White House requesting that Biden take a cognitive test similar to the one he administered to Trump while he was president. The test, which Trump has repeatedly boasted of having “approved,” aims to uncover signs of Alzheimer’s and other cognitive diseases.
The congressman also speculated, again without evidence, that the president was receiving drugs while at Camp David this week. Biden will spend the week before the debate at the presidential retreat as part of the preparations.
“I feel like that’s probably what’s happening this week at Camp David,” Jackson said. “Part of it is probably experimenting with just getting the doses right, because they have to treat their cognition.”
“They have to give him something to help him think more clearly. They have to give him something to wake him up – to make him alert,” he continued. “And then he became agitated. We see this all the time. And that’s common – it’s a common symptom or sign of this cognitive disorder that he appears to be suffering from.”
Jackson was criticized while playing his role as Trump’s doctor for allegedly exaggerating Trump’s health for political reasons. Trump was a strong supporter of Jackson’s 2020 congressional campaign.
The congressman was also retroactively demoted from the rank of Navy rear admiral to captain in 2022 after an inspector general report found he got drunk and mistreated subordinates while serving as the president’s physician.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
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