By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden received an annual physical examination at a military hospital in suburban Maryland on Wednesday and declared himself “squared away” amid concerns over his age as the 81-year-old seeks re-election in November.
Dressed in a suit, Biden left the White House early on Wednesday for the exam and returned a few hours later.
He told reporters once he was back at the White House that the results were no different from his exam the previous year.
“There is nothing different than last year,” Biden told reporters about the results.
“Everything is great.”
Doctors declared Biden healthy and “fit for duty” in last year’s physical examination, which included removing a lesion from his chest and declaring him free of symptoms of long COVID after his bout with the virus in 2022.
The White House said it would publicly release a written summary of the Democratic president’s latest physical later on Wednesday.
This year’s physical comes as Biden, a Democrat, and former Republican President Donald Trump, 77, prepare to face off in a likely rematch in the Nov.
5 presidential election.
The two candidates have accused each other of mental decline. Trump’s last rival for the Republican nomination, 52-year-old Nikki Haley, has said both men are too old to occupy the White House and should be subjected to cognitive tests.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters the president had not taken a cognitive test and did not need one.
Biden likes to golf and ride his bike in his downtime.
But his verbal and physical stumbles have raised concerns about his age and ability to carry out the demands of being commander-in-chief.
Asked if there was anything Americans should be concerned about, Biden made a joke about his age.
“Well, they think I look too young,” Biden quipped.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicitt; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Jeff Mason; Editing by Susan Heavey, Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)
