Joe Biden's doctor says US president 'fit for duty'

US President Joe Biden "continues to be fit for duty," his doctor decreed in a 6-page report after he concluded his annual physical on Wednesday, ahead of this year's presidential race where the 81-year-old is almost certain to compete.

Biden spent over two-and-a-half hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the annual tests.

His physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, wrote that Biden "feels well and this year's physical identifies no new concerns."

"President Biden is a healthy, active, robust, 81-year-old male who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency," O'Connor said.

Why is Biden's health in question?

The Democrat president in 2021 broke the record, becoming the oldest president inaugurated, aged 78 at the time. Should he secure a second term this year, as he intends, he would be 86 after leaving office.

Contrary to his physical report, a recent special counsel's report on the investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents repeatedly questioned his memory.

It described it as "hazy," "fuzzy," "faulty," "poor," and having "significant limitations," while saying the president would come across to a jury as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

Biden responded to the report, telling reporters: "My memory is fine." He was visibly angry at the report claiming he had forgotten when his son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015, aged 46, denying the alleged memory relapse.

The Wednesday physical included what the report called an "extremely detailed neurologic exam," which concluded there were no signs of stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's or other similar conditions.

The physical, however, did not include a cognitive test. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president's physician O'Connor and his neurologist "don't believe he needs one."

"He passes a cognitive test every day, every day as he moves from one topic to another topic, understanding the granular level of these topics," Jean-Pierre said.

Trump takes jabs at Biden's age

Another source of the tension surrounding Biden's age are incessant comments from former President Donald Trump, who is most likely to face off with him in the November race.

The 77-year-old Trump has previously described Biden as old, decrepit and unfit for office. In an interview with late-night TV comic Seth Meyers on Monday, Biden said he was a better bet than "the other guy."

Trump has also had his fair share of verbal gaffes and memory lapses.

These include mixing up the city and state where he was campaigning and calling Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban the leader of Turkey.

rmt/jsi (AFP, AP)