Doctors watching Joe Biden’s address to the nation tonight have revealed subtle clues about the president’s health.
They pointed out that the speech was relatively short (it lasted just 11 minutes) and that Biden read exclusively through an autocue, making it difficult to make a definitive assessment of his mental and physical well-being.
However, Virginia neurologist Dr. W. Chris Winter noticed that the 81-year-old man rarely blinked.
‘I counted the blink rates of all the ABC correspondents and guests before (the speech) and it varied from 30 to 60 times a minute,’ he told DailyMail.com.
He said the president blinked an average of fewer than 10 times per minute, which is far below the average of 15 to 20 times that most people experience. “A low blink rate can be a sign of Parkinson’s disease … an earlier sign of the disease,” Dr. Winter added.
Many medical experts have previously suggested that Biden’s cognitive decline could be the result of an early-stage form of the condition, particularly after it emerged that a Parkinson’s doctor regularly visited the White House during Biden’s time in office.
Meanwhile, California cardiologist Dr. Ernst von Schwarz said Biden’s “dry mouth, fixed gaze, very few … hand movements and gestures … could be signs of cognitive decline” caused by his age, or “a neurodegenerative condition” such as dementia.
Doctors watching Joe Biden’s address to the nation tonight have revealed subtle clues about the president’s health. They warned that his lack of blinking could indicate a neurological problem. His dry mouth and stiff hands suggest cognitive decline. They also highlighted his liberal application of makeup — likely to mask his pale skin.
But it could also be due to the medication, the doctor told DailyMail.com.
Please note that there are ways to improve a person’s speech through medical interventions.
‘The use of medications such as psychostimulants (such as Adderall or Ritalin) is very common for many people just before a lecture, presentation or official task. These medications increase the availability of dopamine in the brain, which can temporarily slow the course of cognitive decline and improve speech, attention and the ability to communicate.
“I’m not saying President Biden is using stimulants, but it wouldn’t be that unusual.”
Biden addressed the nation tonight for the first time since announcing his decision to withdraw from the presidential race on Sunday, a move that would have surprised even his closest team.
Despite practicing for nearly four days, the president still botched a few sentences and sometimes spoke so softly that static was heard during the broadcast.
According to Dr. Winter, a low voice is another warning sign of Parkinson’s disease.
He suggested that Biden’s soft voice may have led technicians to turn up his microphones, picking up more background noise.
The doctors also highlighted Biden’s liberal use of makeup.
They said he looked more orange than usual, likely to mask the president’s pale skin, which may have worsened since he was sick with Covid last week.
Dr von Schwarz said: ‘There was clearly a lot of make-up on. I think he’s probably very pale, you could see it in his neckline.
Biden was last seen looking frail as he boarded Air Force One on July 23
“They put a lot of makeup on him to make him look healthy, but he’s clearly not. He’s very fragile, I think.”
Both doctors agreed that Biden looked “no worse” than he has in previous periods in recent months, suggesting his condition is deteriorating but not enough to warrant urgent medical attention.
But Dr von Schwarz added: ‘He was reading from an autocue, which is simply a repetition technique, which makes it difficult to gauge his intellectual capacity.
‘But anyone can do that, you don’t have to be a genius.’
He added: ‘A rehearsed speech read out via autocue is not evidence of full mental or intellectual capacity.’
Both said it was also difficult to judge his movements because he sat still throughout the speech.
Dr. Winter said, “Overall I thought he did well.
‘He could sit there, speak with conviction, there was a cadence in his voice – I don’t know if it proves anything, but it certainly doesn’t show any (rapid) deterioration.’
He added: “If that had happened three weeks ago, I don’t think anyone would have said they had lost confidence in Biden.”
Dr. von Schwarz said: ‘Overall, I naturally expected a good, thorough and understandable speech from President Biden today, and he did that well.
“As a cardiologist and aging researcher, I believe that President Biden, based on my daily interactions with older adults, is an octogenarian… who deserves more rest, support, and appropriate medical care.”