According to an excerpt from Rep. Ronny Jackson’s (R-Texas) upcoming memoir “Holding the Line: A Lifetime of Defending Democracy and American Values,” former President Barack Obama rebuked the former White House physician for questioning Biden’s cognitive ability.
Jackson — who had been the White House physician for former Presidents George W. Bush, Obama, and Donald Trump — had recognized Biden’s cognitive setbacks during the President’s 2020 campaign.
In his book, Jackson recalled one of the first times he questioned Biden’s cognitive capacity, writing: “Biden was on TV again, making crazy statements and concerning mental gaffes; he didn’t know what state he was in or what office he was campaigning for.”
Jackson continued, “He apparently thought at one point that he was running for the Senate and later couldn’t remember what state he was campaigning in. This had been going on for months and was getting worse.”
According to Jackson, at this stage, he was still one of the few who recognized — and called attention to — these cognitive lapses, retweeting a video of a Biden gaffe with the accompanying caption: “Remember the cognitive test that I gave @realDonaldTrump? The one he aced! Sounds like somebody else might need some testing done!! Scary!!”
Soon after Jackson published his tweet, he received a formal rebuke from Obama, who stated that the comments were “unprofessional and beneath the office you once held.”
“I have made a point of not commenting on your service in my successor’s administration and have always spoken highly of you both in public and in private. You always served me and my family well, and I have considered you not only a fine doctor and service member but also a friend,” Obama stated in the email.
“That’s why I have to express my disappointment at the cheap shot you took at Joe Biden via Twitter. It was unprofessional and beneath the office that you once held. It was also disrespectful to me and the many friends you had in our administration,” Obama concluded.
Jackson, who never responded to the email and hasn’t spoken to Obama since, noted in a statement that “It’s awfully ironic now, considering [Biden’s mental fitness] is all anyone, including the liberal media, can talk about.”
