Joe Biden laughs off question about Parkinson’s disease as post-debate scrutiny continues

Joe Biden.

Questions continue for President Joe Biden after his poor debate with Donald Trump last month.

During an interview on MSNBC, “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski asked Biden if he had “been tested for any age-related illnesses” such as “pre-Parkinson’s” or “anything like that, that might explain having a night like that where you couldn’t finish sentences.”

The President laughed before answering.

“Look, I had before, I was feeling so badly before the debate when I came back, the guys, they tested me before. I thought maybe I had COVID, maybe there was something wrong, I had an infection or something. They tested me. They gave me those tests. I was clear,” the President told a national audience.

Biden added that his performance since the debate proves his mind is right.

“Let me put it this way. If there was something that was wrong that night, it’s not like it comes and that’s one night and goes away. That’s why I’ve been out, I’m testing myself and testing everywhere I go, going out and making the case. The night of that debate, I went out, I was out till 2 o’clock in the morning, that very night.”

Previously in the interview, Biden said he had a “neurological physical” earlier in the year, and that the records had been released.

Biden’s comments come after reports say a neurologist visited the White House multiple times in recent months, with at least one meeting with the President’s doctor.

The National Institutes of Health describes Parkinson’s as “a brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination.” The progressive disorder includes tremors, muscle stiffness, slowness of movement and a propensity for falls.

The rationale for Biden’s performance has been murky at best, and characterized by seemingly obvious contradictions between words and actions.

Biden’s team told reporters even before the debate was over that the President had a cold, by way of explaining his disjointed delivery and scattershot performance. That cold didn’t stop him from going to a Waffle House after the CNN telecast was over to greet supporters.

The President has been defiant in standing up to critics who want him out of the presidential race, even conducting a pre-taped prime time interview on ABC News that aired Friday. That interview raised questions, though, including a debate afterward about whether he used the word “goodest.”