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President Joe Biden joked, “Sometimes I wish I was cognitively impaired” after Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler suggested that no one would question the 81-year-old’s physical fitness after Thursday’s State of the Union address.
Biden gave a one-hour, seven-minute speech to a joint session of Congress that contained a few gaffes, such as accidentally telling Americans he would fly them to Moscow to buy cheap prescription drugs.
But Biden also impressed Democrats by boldly attacking Republicans (hitting them over Ukraine funding and derailing the border bill) and confronting former President Donald Trump, although referring to him as “my predecessor” throughout the speech.
“No one is going to talk about cognitive decline now,” Nadler told the president, as Biden worked in the House chamber after the speech.
At the compliment, Biden smiled and cracked his joke.
President Joe Biden joked, “Sometimes I wish I was cognitively impaired” after Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler suggested that no one would question the 81-year-old’s physical fitness after Thursday’s State of the Union address.
President Joe Biden worked the floor after delivering his State of the Union address on Thursday. Democrats were delighted that Biden attacked Republicans so strongly, criticizing them for delaying Ukraine funding and derailing a bipartisan border bill.
Nadler, a New York Democrat who is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, did not appear to be paying attention to Biden the entire time.
An image of Nadler scrolling on his phone during the speech quickly went viral.
“For those asking: I’ve been endlessly reviewing all of President Biden’s accomplishments,” Nadler posted on X in response.
Last week, Biden received his annual physical, and the White House’s chief physician said the president showed “no new concerns,” called him “active and robust” and said he was “fit to serve.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden’s medical team did not believe the 81-year-old needed a cognitive test, prompting former President Donald Trump to demand that Biden undergo make one.
Biden’s age and fitness for office, as the country’s oldest president, will be a major issue as the 2024 general election approaches.
During the speech, Biden addressed the issue head-on.
He suggested that, while he may be old, Trump’s ideas are “old.”
‘My “My fellow Americans, the problem facing our nation is not how old we are, but how old our ideas are,” the president said. “Hate, anger, revenge and retribution are the oldest ideas, but you can’t lead America with old ideas and only set us back.”
He told the crowd that “when you get to my age, certain things become clearer than ever.”
Biden also joked: “I know it may not seem like it, but I’ve been around for a while.”
“I know American history,” the 81-year-old said. ‘And again I have seen the contest between rival forces in the battle for the soul of our nation.
“Between those who want to move America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future,” Biden continued.
‘My life has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy, a future based on the fundamental values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity and equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair chance. So as not to give hate a safe harbor,” the president added.
He then addressed Trump, although he never said the name of his likely rival in 2024.
“Other people my age see him differently,” Biden said of the 77-year-old Republican candidate. ‘The American story of resentment, revenge and retribution.’
“That’s not me,” he said.