President Joe Biden on Wednesday evening informed more than 20 Democratic governors in a private meeting that he underwent a medical checkup after last week’s disastrous debate performance and said he is fine, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion via Politico.
During an hour-long meeting prompted by intensifying concerns about his health and political viability, one governor questioned Biden about his physical condition. The president revealed that he had a checkup in recent days and asserted that he remains in good health, knocking on wood for effect as per two of those people, who were granted anonymity to describe a private meeting.
That statement — in a hastily arranged White House meeting that saw nearly a dozen governors travel to Washington while others participated virtually — came just hours after press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sidestepped direct questions from reporters who asked if he’d been examined since the debate.
“The president has regular annual physicals that we release in a thorough report,” she said. “We’re going to continue to do that.”
It has been noted that Biden’s remark as per a person familiar with the president’s schedule, was about a short checkup by a White House physician in the days following the debate due to lingering symptoms from his cold. The exam, that person added, was brief and did not include any major tests.
Two Democratic governors — Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Janet Mills of Maine — expressed concern to Biden over whether he could still win their blue-leaning states, describing them as competitive, two of the people with knowledge of the discussion said. In 2020, Biden won New Mexico by 11 percentage points and Maine by 9 points.
