If you were skeptical about information coming from the government before, you have even more reason to be now.
The revelation that former President Joe Biden has an aggressive form of prostate cancer, coming after a slew of books and reports highlighting his physical and mental decline while in office, has raised even more questions about whether the public can trust the medical information coming from a president’s personal doctor. To address these concerns, a president’s annual physical should be performed by a panel of widely respected, independent physicians who then jointly release the information and their assessments.
Of course, lack of public trust regarding presidents’ physical or mental fitness for office has been raised by both political parties. Democrats repeatedly questioned President Trump’s medical reports, especially his mental competency. For example, when “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart mentioned that the 6-foot 3-inch Trump, who has an ample girth, weighed 224 pounds according to his April physical, the audience laughed disbelievingly.
To adapt an old hair-coloring commercial, only his doctor knows for sure.
But what about Biden’s last physical as president? Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who had been Biden’s personal doctor since 2009, announced in February of last year that Biden was “fit for duty.” O’Connor added that Biden was a “healthy, active, robust 81-year-old.”
In his announcement, O’Connor says that other specialists were included and that physicians in the White House Medical Unit “have independently reviewed the chart, examined the President, and concur with my findings and recommendations.”
Those specialists apparently were not made available for questions from the press. And when one clicks on NPR’s White House weblink to O’Connor’s report, it’s been (surprise!) removed.
That Biden’s doctor could release a rosy medical assessment of the president’s mental and physical health only four months before his disastrous debate with Trump raises serious concerns about the veracity of the findings, especially now that people associated with Biden are fessing up to their previous doubts.
The prostate cancer diagnosis has only heightened suspicions that Biden, his family and his doctor were withholding important information. While some doctors concede that it’s at least possible that the disease only recently emerged, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist who has worked for Biden — and the brother of Rahm Emanuel, who may seek the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination — said, “He had it while he was president. He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021. Yes, I don’t think there’s any disagreement about that.”
There has been some debate about whether, given his age, Biden’s doctor included a test that can detect prostate cancer. But we can say for sure that Trump’s doctor did, since it was released to the public.
We have several other instances where presidents tried to hide their medical problems. For example, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a serious stroke in 1919, leading to speculation that his wife, Edith, was essentially running the country until Wilson finished his term in 1921. President Franklin Roosevelt contracted polio but tried to hide that from the public for years. President John F. Kennedy had back problems and Addison’s disease, which affects the adrenal glands. And many Democrats raised the possibility that President Ronald Reagan was slipping mentally in his final years. He announced in 1994 that he had Alzheimer’s Disease.
Given the growing bipartisan skepticism about a president’s health — even leading to discussions of invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution — what should be done?
The president is not mandated to take an annual physical or release the results. The practice started with President Richard Nixon, and his successors have seen it as an important, though voluntary, practice.
Given the public skepticism in these hyper-partisan times, the president’s annual physical needs some changes. It should be done by a panel of independent physicians, such as the heads of a few medical schools and some relevant medical associations (such as family physicians, internists and mental health).
The panel should release their findings and then face the press for questioning, highlighting any areas of disagreement. In other words, there should be no doubt that the president has been fully examined and that the medical team has no interest in omitting or glossing over problems. Before physicians are allowed to pronounce the commander-in-chief “fit for duty,” they should recognize their duty to be honest with the public.
Merrill Matthews is a public policy and political analyst and the co-author of “On the Edge: America Faces the Entitlements Cliff.”
