It’s a ‘very emotional time for him and he isn’t showing it,’ said one doctor, also perceiving a ‘lack of conviction’

President Biden: The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation

President Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office for the first time since dropping out of the 2024 race.

After President Biden’s address to the nation on Wednesday night, multiple doctors shared their opinions about his health status based on his live speech.

Seated in the Oval Office, the president spoke briefly about his withdrawal from the 2024 race and his commitment to continuing to serve the country for the next few months. 

He did not mention his recent COVID-19 infection, ongoing concerns about his cognitive health, or the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, noted that Biden seemed to be reading from a teleprompter, making it challenging to gauge his medical fitness.

Although Biden stumbled over his words a few times, Siegel was more concerned about the president’s apparent “lack of emotion.”

“It is a very emotional time for him and he isn’t showing it,” Siegel said after the speech. “He seems to lack conviction.”

Siegel expressed concern that Biden “could be depressed and shocked by the current reality.”

“I feel compassion for him,” Siegel continued. “How can he quote from the Declaration [of Independence] without much conviction? I feel bad for him and for us.”

Dr. Robert Lufkin, a California-based physician and medical school professor, also weighed in on Biden.

Lufkin noted that he has never examined Biden but offered his observations based on Wednesday’s speech and recent media events.

In previous appearances, Biden has shown signs of “cognitive deterioration,” Lufkin said.

“The findings in his previous presentations could have a variety of causes, including sleep deprivation, sedation, metabolic abnormalities or even neurodegenerative diseases.”

In previous appearances, such as the June 27 debate, Biden has shown “confused rambling, sudden loss of train of thought in the middle of a sentence, halting speech, and the repeated use of the word ‘anyway’ when lost in a sentence,” Lufkin noted.

“Tonight, we did not see these in his presentation,” he said. “His delivery was fairly uniform without interruptions.”

The lack of these signs on Wednesday night might be due to the speech format and use of a teleprompter, according to Lufkin.

He said that “continued interactions with Mr. Biden in various presentation formats will allow us to understand his situation in more detail.”

Dr. Earnest Lee Murray, a neurologist at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, said the speech from the Oval Office was “clearly better” for Biden than the debate but noted that the president struggled with reading from the teleprompter. 

“Reading simple passages becomes difficult in patients with dementia,” Murray explained, expressing a professional opinion in general about such cases. 

“Patients with a dementing process have significant difficulties with multitasking,” Murray said. 

“President Biden seemed more rested and relaxed tonight,” Murray added. 

“I suspect the stress of trying to run for office and be president was leading to even worse daily cognitive performance,” he mentioned. 

In response to earlier outreach, the White House press office said that “health was not a factor” in Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 race. 

“He looks forward to finishing his term and delivering more historic results for the American people,” the White House stated.