With a background in medicine, the military, politics and the internal workings of the White House, Dr. Ronny Jackson understands the demands of the United States presidency better than most politicians or any pundit with an opinion on it.
So when the current Texas congressman and former White House physician under both Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump reacted to news of President Joe Bidenās embarrassing tumble Thursday at the United States Air Force Academyās graduation ceremony, it was well worth paying attention to his words.
And those words delivered news that Biden and his Democratic supporters didnāt want to hear heading into a 2024 re-election campaign, which will put Bidenās increasingly advanced age under the unforgiving spotlight of a national campaign.
āI donāt want to sound like a broken record, but Iām just going to say it again: This manās not fit mentally or physically to be our president,ā Jackson told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Friday night.
āItās just a bad situation for us.
āPart of the job of the president of the United States is to inspire confidence and to project power. And heās not doing that. He canāt do that. Heās too old to do that,ā Jackson told Hannity.
āAnd I just, I think itās a shame that his ⦠lack of physical ability and his physical decline is now starting to highlight the cognitive decline that weāve been watching for so long now.
āAnd itās a package that just doesnāt sell well around the world. And itās becoming a national security issue for us. We have to do something about it.ā
And that āsomethingā is removing Biden from office. Barring some unforeseen, incredibly drastic event between now and January 2025, itās unlikely Democrats will ever marshal the political strength to remove Biden prematurely via the 25th Amendment. And that leaves the 2024 presidential election ā no matter who the Republican standard-bearer is.
Thatās a whole lot of bad news for a doctor to deliver in one soundbite. But thereās really not any way an honest American can dispute it.
As even casual followers of the news have to know, the Air Force Academy stumble was far from Bidenās first in the public eye.
The stairs from the ground to the door of Air Force One are a particular hazard ā heās stumbled and fallen multiple times in one trip up; heās stumbled and fallen a singular time during one trip up; heās stumbled and almost fallen going up them.
Heās fallen from a stationary bike in front of news cameras.
None of this inspires confidence, of course. And for those whoāve had experience with aging loved ones or who are going through the difficulties of aging themselves, they should evoke alarm, as well as sympathy, regardless of politics.
In fact, the only time Biden projects powers is when heās haranguing the country about the āultra-MAGAā Americans who somehow represent a threat to the country the Founders established because they revere the Constitution the Founders wrote.
When it comes to the international stage, Biden is a walking example of weakness, a doddering, stiff-legged figure of fragility that epitomizes what the rivals and enemies of the United States see in the country ā a hollow example of its former greatness.
As Jackson acknowledged when he said he hates to sound like a ābroken record,ā heās made similar comments before, demanding Biden undergo a cognitive test to assure the American people he still has enough marbles in the bag to stay in the game.
Again, no honest observer ā not even a liberal Democrat, if honesty can be found there ā can dispute that Bidenās cognitive abilities are cause for concern.
His cognitive lapses ā particularly calling out the name of Indiana Republic Rep. Jackie Walorski after heād issued a written statement publicly lamenting Walorskiās death in a car accident ā inspire even less confidence than his physical weakness.
Jackson might be repeating himself, but itās only because the man in the White House has given him no reason to say anything differently.
As a man with a degree in medicine, who spent a career in the U.S. Navy before retiring with the rank of rear admiral, who has treated two presidents from two different political parties during their tenures in the White House, and now himself serves as a Republican member of the House of Representatives, Jackson has a view of leadership thatās different from almost any other Americanās.
He also has a different view of the standard required for service in the Oval Office.
When Jackson says Biden doesnāt meet those standards, and when the overwhelming evidence available to the naked eye does nothing but indicate more and more that Jackson is right, even Democrats should be listening.
The country canāt afford not to.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
