Sen. Lindsey Graham said he’s worried about the country’s national security after President Biden’s shaky performance at the Georgia debate last month.
“Most of us are concerned with the national security implications of this debate about President Biden’s health,” the South Carolina Republican said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
“Most Democrats are worried about Biden winning the election. I’m worried about Biden being the commander-in-chief for the next four months,” he said.
The 81-year-old president’s performance at the debate sent Democrats into a frenzy, with now five House Democrats calling for him to step aside and let someone else be on the presidential ticket.
Mr. Graham said he would like to see the president take a cognitive test and called on others to take mental exams too.
“I’d like to see President Biden take a cognitive test,” he said. “I think everybody going forward in the line of succession should have a neurological exam on a regular basis.”
Asked if former President Donald Trump should take one too, Mr. Graham said an adamant “yes.”
“I think all nominees for president in the future should have neurological exams as part of an overall physical exam,” he said.
“My predecessor, Sen. Strom Thurmond, was a very vigorous man, but he was 100. He was the speaker pro tem of the Senate,” Graham said. “This is a wake-up call for the country. We need to make sure that the people who are going to be in the line of succession are capable of being commander-in-chief under dire circumstances.”
He said he worries that the country’s allies and enemies see a “comprised Joe Biden.”
“I’m offended by the idea that he shouldn’t take a competency test given all the evidence in front of us,” he said. “He is not only in denial, this is a dangerous time for the American people to have somebody at the ship, leading the ship of state who seems to be compromised.”
In a prime-time interview Friday with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Mr. Biden refused to take a cognitive test.
“I get a full neurological test every day,” Mr. Biden said in the interview referring to the work he does as a president.
“Medical doctors from the best of the world travel with me everywhere I go. I have an ongoing assessment of what I’m doing. They don’t hesitate to tell me if they think something is wrong,” Mr. Biden said.
Asked if he had had an exam, Mr. Biden said “No one said I had to…They said I’m good.”
The interview was his first televised sitdown since his debate performance, and it didn’t do much to quell the concerned feelings of the country.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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