# Does Joe Biden have dementia? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2021, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334 "2021-07-26T14:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/21 "2021-07-26T16:44:18Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Some people want Biden to have dementia. Serves him right. Stole the election. Nothing he does can be legally binding because he’s got dementia, etc. etc. And it seems to me a subgroup also thinks if he does… it invalidates his win and puts Trump back in. I can’t imagine how rapid that group would become if they did successfully prove that Biden is unfit, but instead of Trump coming back, Harris is their new leader. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/22 "2021-07-26T16:48:03Z")
As long as I can remember, I’ve had good days and bad days. I remember going to work several times in my 20s and 30s and 40s and saying “I’m going to put off this task that requires more of my brain, and today is a good day for cleaning out old emails and taking care of some of the more inane parts of my job.” That doesn’t mean I had dementia or was suffering from old age in my 30s. It means that some nights I didn’t sleep well, some days I had taken cold medicine that left me foggy headed, and sometimes I was just distracted. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/23 "2021-07-26T16:53:08Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > Oh, goodie. Tell me, Sam, do you deny that Reagan actually suffered from, and was diagnosed with, some form of dementia by his own doctors? I’ll be delighted to read your spin on this simple yes-or-no question. You know, if you are going to be a snarky ass you should really make sure you are correct. ‘His Own Doctors’ have repeatedly said he showed no signs of Alzheimers while in office. His first symptoms did not appear until 1993, four years out of office, and he wasn’t diagnosed until 1995. As a reminder, his term ended in 1988. From Snopes: > [@](#): > > …even with the hindsight of Mr. Reagan’s [Alzheimer’s] diagnosis, his four main White House doctors say they never detected any evidence that his forgetfulness was more than just that. His mental competence in office, they said in a series of recent interviews, was never in doubt. Indeed, they pointed out, tests of his mental status did not begin to show evidence of the disease until the summer of 1993, more than four years after he left the White House. Oh goodie. You’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/24 "2021-07-26T17:13:21Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I think Joe has as many Senior moments as many people in their 70s, and people notice them because of the public nature of his job. OP: do you agree that someone regularly having Senior moments does not mean they have any kind of dementia? I can’t easily answer your question, which is why I started this thread. I don’t have much experience hanging around seniors who regularly have senior moments. Most of my experience is with my own dad, whom I visit for just a couple of days every few months - and he’s got pretty advanced Parkinson’s-related dementia, so not a useful point of reference. > [@kitap](#): > > Some people want Biden to have dementia. I don’t. I voted for him, but I’m not a huge fan of Harris; I hope she doesn’t become President. I’m glad Biden beat Trump, but during the campaign last year I was surprised at how much he aged, appearance-wise, since he and Obama left office four years earlier. > [@Roger\_That](#): > > I’m amazed that this question is not more widely viewed as a pure smear job, straight out of Goebbel’s book: always accuse one’s enemies of that which oneself is most guilty. > [@DrDeth](#): > > It is, of course. One of the reasons politics is such a shitshow these days is because of the constant accusations of ulterior motives. Want to curtail illegal immigration? You must be a white-supremacist xenophobe. Want to curtail gun violence? You must want to take everyone’s guns away and infantilize everyday citizens. Wondering about the President’s cognitive status? You must just want to make him look bad. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/25 "2021-07-26T18:24:00Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > As a reminder, his term ended in 1988. If you’re going to be snarky, get your facts straight. A president’s term ends in odd-numbered years. That Snopes article has plenty of evidence, from Lesley Stahl and Ron Reagan and others who spoke with him repeatedly during his second term in office, that suggest he definitely wasn’t right in his head while in office. My point, which you seem incapable of understanding, was that Alzheimer’s isn’t an off-on switch, and that he was definitely diagnosed as having it, and a bad case of it, after leaving office, There is no way on earth anyone could possibly pinpoint the day, the week, the month or the year that the first signs of it began revealing themselves. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/26 "2021-07-26T18:29:16Z")
Whatever genius “diagnosed” Biden as showing signs of dementia clearly doesn’t know what dementia is or what its symptoms are. What we’re seeing here is a combination of Biden’s natural tendency to stammer plus probably a bit of old-age forgetfulness, which I see in a lot of people. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The previous occupant of the White House was also a man in his 70s, who also sometimes displayed signs of aging – he’d slur his words during speeches, he occasionally had to use both hands to drink from a water bottle, and sometimes walked unsteadily. Some opponents insisted that these were signs he was unfit for the office, while supporters said “it’s nothing, he’s fine.” Either way, it’s armchair quarterbacking. Well, I for one never tried to medically diagnose Trump based on those incidents. I just find them amusing because the self-described “stable genius” and “healthiest president in history” is so arrogantly pompous. The only medical diagnosis I can confidently make about Trump is that he suffers from terminal stupidity. There is literally nothing he can say that is so outrageously imbecilic that even he would recognize it as stupid – nothing! [https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/26/politics/donald-trump-2020-election-routers/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/26/politics/donald-trump-2020-election-routers/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/27 "2021-07-26T18:36:44Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > OTOH, die-hard Biden supporters will be comparably reluctant to acknowledge a problem until it’s so bad that it can’t be glossed over…so maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle? First off, this notion that “die hard Biden supporters” would do this is nothing more than a stupid “both sides do it!” talking point created by Republicans who can’t get over the fact that this is what **they** do. Compare the typical GOP response to finding out something bad about one of their candidates to the Democratic Party response, and it becomes abundantly clear that the Democrats are far more willing to admit problems, and the GOP never admits problems. So right off the bat, your premise is flawed. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > So what do people here think? Based on your personal experience with dementia among friends/family, or your professional medical training, what is your armchair/remote diagnosis/prognosis of Biden’s mental fitness for continued service as POTUS? As for this part, several members of my family have gone through this, my mother being the current one. Biden is nothing at all like them. Trump, on the other hand, shows several things in common with these family members, but good luck getting the typical Trump supporter to admit that. It’s also worth noting that the GOP tried the same tactic with Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, and looky-looky, it turned out to be stupid propaganda crap then, and it’s stupid propaganda crap now. One would hope the GOPsters would stop falling for it at some point, but I suppose anyone who does stop falling for also stops voting Republican, so it may be a self-selecting phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/28 "2021-07-26T19:03:21Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > One of the reasons politics is such a shitshow these days is because of the constant accusations of ulterior motives. Want to curtail illegal immigration? You must be a white-supremacist xenophobe. Want to curtail gun violence? You must want to take everyone’s guns away and infantilize everyday citizens. Wondering about the President’s cognitive status? You must just want to make him look bad. Whatever. The recent source for this comes from Faux news: > **[Former White House physician says Democrats should follow through on...](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-physician-democrats-cognitive-demands-biden)** > > Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, the former White House physician for Donald Trump, called on Democrats to follow through with their prior demands regarding a president’s cognitive ability and have President Biden be assessed. Ergo, “they must just want to make him look bad.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/29 "2021-07-26T19:12:36Z")
Reagan was regularly cognitively tested, and his doctors have testified that the first early signs of Alzheimers did not show up in testing until 1993, long after he was out of office. Your other evidence is a journalist and his son who was actively opposed to him at the time and has since walked back his comments. Neither of them were doctors. It seems to me you are doing exactly what everyone else in this thread is complaining about - using non-doctors to justify a conclusuon about the President that you want to believe. If it’s bad when Republicans do it to Biden, it’s bad if Democrats do it to Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/30 "2021-07-26T19:16:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The recent source for this comes from Faux news: > > [Former White House physician says Democrats should follow through on cognitive demands and test Biden | Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-physician-democrats-cognitive-demands-biden) > > Ergo, “they must just want to make him look bad.” The money quote is here: > Jackson pointed to an increase in instances where the president appears “confused.” > > “You can go back – there’s forty years of tape of this man – he’s always made gaffes and stuff but these are different, he’s confused, he’s disoriented,” the Texas congressman continued. Standard GOP bullshit. Every time someone challenges them to post an example of Biden being “confused”, they fail to do so. All they have are idiots like this guy making claims, with nothing to back them up. Meanwhile, Biden is on TV, giving hour-long speeches that everyone but the right-wing propagandists covers, and no one else sees these “obvious” instances of being “confused”. It’s all bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/31 "2021-07-26T19:25:03Z")
My own observations, FWIW. Biden - he can seem tired and occasionally doesn’t speak at volume, which can make it seem like he’s mumbling. I haven’t seen him get confused, and he’s able to answer reporters’ questions easily. Tump - the only signs that I noticed that might be associated with dementia are jumbled speaking and perseveration. For example, you can look for yourself at older tapes of interviews (10-15) years ago, and compare his performance in those to now. Then he spoke coherently and finished the sentences he started. Now he speaks in a word salad, and jumps from one fragment of a thought to another. His perseveration is (IMO) more severe than simple political messaging. Other than those symptoms, I don’t see dementia. Even those are not diagnostic. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/32 "2021-07-26T19:34:27Z")
Admittedly, it would be a judgment call to distinguish between Reagan’s first day of full-on dementia and his regular practice of being dimwitted and simpleminded. Stahl’s and Ron Reagan’s stories of his cluelessness compel the conclusion that one or the other applied, off and on, for years before he was officially, and openly, diagnosed with complete dementia in the early 1990s. You may continue to think of him as an intellectual giant, of course, and a brilliant thinker to the end of his life and beyond. I’m quite satisfied that he was an amiable dunce on his best day, and a virtual vegetable at the end of his life. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/33 "2021-07-26T19:35:24Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Reagan was regularly cognitively tested, and his doctors have testified that the first early signs of Alzheimers did not show up in testing until 1993, long after he was out of office. - And yet he couldn’t remember a thing about Iran-Contra. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/34 "2021-07-26T19:37:16Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > You know, if you are going to be a snarky ass you should really make sure you are correct. ‘His Own Doctors’ have repeatedly said he showed no signs of Alzheimers while in office. His first symptoms did not appear until 1993, four years out of office, and he wasn’t diagnosed until 1995. As a reminder, his term ended in 1988. Maybe it was hard to tell because Reagan was such a total dumbass: > **[Behind the Ronald Reagan myth: "No one had ever entered the White House so...](https://www.salon.com/2015/12/27/behind_the_ronald_reagan_myth_no_one_had_ever_entered_the_white_house_so_grossly_ill_informed_2/)** > > Reagan embarrassed himself in news conferences, Cabinet meetings. Recalling how GOP cringed at his lack of interest ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/35 "2021-07-26T19:40:23Z")
You an think anything you want about Reagan. That’s a hijack. The point is there was no evidence of Alzheimers while he was in office. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/36 "2021-07-26T19:46:30Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Maybe it was hard to tell because Reagan was such a total dumbass: - > > [https://www.salon.com/2015/12/27/behind\_the\_ronald\_reagan\_myth\_no\_one\_had\_ever\_entered\_the\_white\_house\_so\_grossly\_ill\_informed\_2/](https://www.salon.com/2015/12/27/behind_the_ronald_reagan_myth_no_one_had_ever_entered_the_white_house_so_grossly_ill_informed_2/) Well, Trump sure as hell sunk that battleship. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/37 "2021-07-26T19:50:13Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > You an think anything you want about Reagan. That’s a hijack. The point is there was no evidence of Alzheimers while he was in office. It’s not about what I think, it’s about the factual evidence presented that Reagan was not exactly a model of mental acuity, especially in his later years in office. Absence of a specific Alzheimer’s diagnosis doesn’t mean he wasn’t in significant mental decline, which he clearly was. I have seen no such evidence about Biden. I reject your false equivalency. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/38 "2021-07-26T20:07:20Z")
And I think Biden is much worse than Reagan ever was. There are times when he lapses into complete incoherence. He’s never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he seems worse now. But he’s 80, and some senescence is normal. I’m not going to diagnose him with something. > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I haven’t seen him get confused, and he’s able to answer reporters’ questions easily. Well you say that, but… > **[Biden mocked over incoherent answer](https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-politics/joe-biden-gives-meandering-incoherent-answer-on-vaccine-rollout-during-cnn-town-hall/news-story/ef100a5548fc990b2505886ed2048063)** > > US President Joe Biden has been mocked on social media after giving a confusing and meandering answer during a televised town hall forum. The question was "Will Children under 12 be able to be vaccinated? The answer was… something. For those who don’t want to watch, here’s the transcript of his answer: > [@](#): > > “The question is whether or not we should be in a position where you, um, are – why can’t the, the, the experts say, ‘We know that this virus is, in fact, um, it’s going to be,’ or excuse me, ‘We know why all the drugs approved are not temporarily approved, but permanently approved.’ That’s under way too, I expect that to occur quickly.” ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/39 "2021-07-26T20:21:55Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > You an think anything you want about Reagan. That’s a hijack. Which you introduced. This thread had nothing to do with Reagan until you brought him up in some kind of Bricker-esque “liberal hypocrisy” ploy. On topic: it is impossible to effectively diagnose someone of anything based on TV appearances and anyone who declares that Biden has dementia is 100% guessing. [I wonder why they would do that?](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/10/trump-biden-clinton-age-senile-124797) ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334/40 "2021-07-26T22:39:31Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Well you say that, but… I didn’t say always and I don’t think anyone always answers every question easily or correctly. I’ll amend my answer to include that qualification. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-joe-biden-have-dementia/947334.md?page=3)