• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Fri, 12 Jul 2024 08:11 AM (IST)
  • Source:Reuters
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US Presidential Race: US President Joe Biden on Thursday asserted that his health is in good shape, saying that he will take another neurological exam to ascertain his mental agility if his doctors recommend doing so. Addressing a news conference, Biden said he had undergone three significant and intense neurological exams, with the most recent one being in February.

The 81-year-old, already the oldest person to ever serve as the president of the US, claimed that doctors opined he was in "good shape". "I am not opposed, if my doctors tell me I should have another neurological exam, I'll do it," he said at a rare solo news conference at the conclusion of the NATO Summit.

Faux Pas Disrupts Confidence-building Bid

However, the press conference witnessed yet another gaffe by the octogenarian Democrat as he mixed up the names of his vice president, Kamala Harris, and his predecessor and Republican rival, Donald Trump.

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"Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president. So start there," Biden, who has frequently mangled names and misspoken throughout his political career, said as he responded to a question about his confidence in Harris. This came hours after the leader mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin" at the NATO summit.

Since his poor performance against Trump in a presidential debate on June 28, Biden has faced growing doubts from donors, supporters and fellow Democrats about his ability to win the November 5 election and keep up with the demands of the job. His bid for reelection has been on the ropes for two weeks, since the public debate.

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At least 16 of the 213 Democrats in the House and one of the Senate's 51 Democrats have appealed publicly to the president to withdraw from the race. Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut joined that group shortly after the press conference ended. "We must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump's promised MAGA authoritarianism," he said, adding, "I no longer believe that is Joe Biden."

(With inputs from agencies)