A day after Donald Trump called on Joe Biden to take cognitive test and then repeatedly botched the name of his doctor, Fox News had former Republican presidential hopeful and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson on air to talk about Biden’s state of mind.
Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo pressed Carson on the debunked narrative that the president was aimlessly wandering at an event at a Group of Seven (G7) summit.
“We saw more questions about President Biden’s capacity when he was on the world stage again this week in Italy, wandering off in the middle of an important moment there where (Italian Prime Minister) Giorgia Meloni had to redirect him. What are your thoughts on that? You’re a doctor. Do you believe President Biden makes it to the election? The Democrats are not stupid, right? But are they going to push to make him withdraw?” Bartiromo asked.
“I’m sure they are gathering and try to figure out how they get out of this dilemma, which they created because they knew from the beginning that he was having cognitive issues. His wife, in particular, must have known that,” Carson said. “I think the people of America are a lot smarter than people on the left give them credit for and the media thinks that they can manipulate them so easily.”
Even Republicans, albeit Trump critics, cried foul over the Republican National Committee posting a video to X that appeared to show the president aimlessly wandering away from the rest of the G7 leaders who gathered to watch a skydiving demonstration.
Biden can be seen giving a thumbs-up and other camera angles showed the president was walking over to the men before Meloni tapped him on the shoulder and gestured for him to return to the group for a photo op.
Former GOP Congressman Joe Walsh blasted the New York Post Friday for its frontpage with the headline “Meander in Chief.”
Walsh, a former staunch Republican turned Trump critic, responded: “This is disinformation. It is a lie. And @nypost knows it’s a lie. And it will be believed by millions.”
Rupert Murdoch owns both the Post and Fox News.
The exchange between Bartiromo and Carson comes a day after Trump suggested during a speech Biden ”should have to take a cognitive test,” only to confuse who administered the test to him in the next sentence.
Trump referred to Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, who was the White House physician for part of his presidency, as “Ronny Johnson.” The moment came as Trump was questioning Biden’s mental acuity, something he often does on the campaign trail and social media.
“He doesn’t even know what the word ‘inflation’ means. I think he should take a cognitive test like I did,” Trump said.
Seconds later, he continued, “Doc Ronny Johnson. Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor, and he said I was the healthiest president, he feels, in history, so I liked him very much indeed immediately.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
