Anthony Fauci has dodged questions about Joe Biden’s health after the president’s worrying debate performance was blamed on him suffering from a cold.
On Tuesday, CBS anchor Major Garrett asked the former US chief medical adviser if he saw anything in the debate that might “medically alarm” him.
But the divisive doctor who advised the US response to the Covid pandemic said: “You know, I can’t say.”
“I think that would be inappropriate to say, Major, because when you just look at somebody in isolation, you just don’t know what could happen,” Fauci said.
The doctor suggested, however, that antihistamines used to treat cold and flu may have contributed to Biden’s drowsy performance.
“Did he have a bad cold? Did he take an antihistamine to make him feel groggy or something? We don’t know what happened,” Fauci continued.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spent nearly an hour being questioned about the president’s health.
She confirmed that although the 81-year-old man still has a cold, he has not seen a doctor.
Jean-Pierre claimed that jet lag from his two consecutive international trips 12 days before the debate contributed to the president’s poor performance.
He also confirmed that Biden has not undergone a medical exam since February.
Antihistamines, such as Benadryl and Claritin, are popular in the US.
Some are known to make users drowsy, something Fauci seemed to suggest may have happened to Biden on stage during his debate performance.
Biden himself even admitted that he almost fell asleep on stage.
The 81-year-old president made the admission during a fundraising event in the upmarket DC suburb of McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday night.
He told the crowd that he was “not very smart” for “traveling around the world a couple of times” before his televised showdown with former President Donald Trump.
Biden made two consecutive trips to France to celebrate the anniversary of D-Day and then to Italy for the G7 in June.
President Joe Biden speaks during a presidential debate with Republican nominee former U.S. President Donald Trump in Atlanta, Georgia, June 27, 2024. In the immediate aftermath of the event, critics began questioning Biden’s health and whether the 81-year-old is up to the job.
Former President Donald Trump ridiculed Biden for his age and errant responses during the debate
Upon his return, the president took a vacation at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Biden then spent a full week at the presidential residence at Camp David resting and preparing for the debate.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Biden was so exhausted from jet-setting that advisers cut debate preparation short by two days so he could make the trip to the beach.
While at Camp David, debate preparation did not begin before 11 a.m. and Biden was given time each day in the afternoon to take a nap.
The president made it clear at Tuesday’s campaign rally that his trip “is not an excuse but an explanation.”
Fauci also agreed, saying his prognosis on Biden’s health would not be appropriate since the debate was too short to get an accurate assessment.
Since the debate, several Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to drop out of the race or have openly admitted that they believe Trump will drop out.
“I think it would be unfair and inappropriate to try to diagnose something from just a 90-minute clip,” he said.
The doctor then repeated the same words that many prominent Democrats have used about the debate: “It seemed like a bad night.”
“I have to say that my interactions with him have been very, very positive,” Fauci added.
Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, travels with him everywhere and was present at the debate in Atlanta.
But Biden, 81, “was not examined by the doctor” on the way to the debate, Jean-Pierre said.
“He’s got a cold and he’s got jet lag. Put all that together and he’s still working for the American people day in and day out, 24 hours a day. Things happen,” she said of Biden’s debate performance.