White House Doctor Says Biden ‘Healthy’ and ‘Fit to Serve’ as President

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the U.S. response to the high-altitude Chinese balloon and three other objects that were recently shot down by the U.S. military over American airspace, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House complex in Washington on Feb. 16, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The top White House doctor said Feb. 16 that President Joe Biden is healthy.

Biden, 80, “remains fit for duty,” Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a memorandum to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre after examining the president.

Biden is being treated for several conditions, including high cholesterol, according to the summary. The conditions all remain stable.

Doctors diagnosed Biden with stiffened gait during his last exam, which took place in 2021, and also said he had been experiencing “increasing frequency and severity of ’throat clearing' and coughing during speaking engagements.”

No new conditions were recorded in the new exam. Between the exams, Biden contracted COVID-19 but has since recovered. Biden has “not experienced any residual symptoms which may be considered to be ‘Long COVID’” O'Connor wrote, adding that Biden recently received an updated COVID-19 booster.

Biden takes multiple medications, including Crestor, as well as a nasal spray for seasonal allergies. He is said not to use tobacco or drink alcohol, and to work out at least five days a week.

O‘Connor described Biden as “healthy” and “vigorous.” He has used the same language in previous reports. O’Connor served as a White house physician during the Bush administration and as the vice president’s doctor during the Obama-Biden administration.

The exam took place at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland.

It was delayed from January due to the president’s “busy schedule,” Jean-Pierre said previously.

After the exam, Biden returned to work, Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing on Thursday.

In 2021, Biden underwent a colonoscopy and transferred power to Vice President Kamala Harris. This time, he did not undergo a colonoscopy.

None of the reports have included cognitive testing.

Neurologic exams in 2021 and this week showed no signs that would “be consistent with” a neurological disorder, such as stroke, according to O'Connor.

Biden is America’s oldest president. He’s set to turn 81 in November.

Biden, a Democrat, has not committed to running for reelection but the White House said in February that he “intends to” try for a second term.

Biden lost presidential elections in 1988 and 2008 but prevailed in 2020 over then-President Donald Trump.

Trump, 76, a Republican, has launched a 2024 bid.

The field is expected to widen in the coming months and now includes former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican.

Haley, 51, said in her speech formally launching her campaign that “we’re ready, ready to move past the stale ideas and faded names of the past, and we are more than ready for a new generation to lead us into the future.”