Biden is in early dementia — the evidence

As a neurologist I am often asked about Biden’s mental capacity.  My first post on the subject occurred after the first debate with Trump.  I thought he was intact — you can read about it here.

https://luysii.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=5200&action=edit&calypsoify=1

Then I was asked to comment on the possibility that his previous operation for aneurysm could be causing trouble. I didn’t think this was likely as so much time had passed.  Interestingly, I knew the neurosurgeon as a Penn undergraduate when I was a neurology resident.  You can read the post at the end — Biden’s cerebral aneurysm.

That was written last December.

I changed my opinion after his press conference. of 14 June ’21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAWRHM4i3Dg
I strongly suggest you look at the segment at 15 minutes where his response makes little sense, and then he shuts down completely for 7 seconds, apparently quite confused. That’s my reading of the video. Form your own opinion.

Then on June 23rd I was sent another clip where he was confused

— https://www.c-span.org/video/?512595-1/president-biden-attends-us-eu-summit-brussels

It is an 8 minute speech, and the clip can be found at 2 minutes, again showing an episode of confusion.

 

But first a story:

As a third year medical student on psychiatry rotation,  I interviewed a Bryn Mawr student who was on the psych ward (my wife was also an undergraduate at the time).  I well knew the intensity of the place, and how much pressure the girls (see the end of the post) put on themselves.  So I talked and talked and commiserated with her.  After a pleasant enough time the I concluded the interview and left.   The teaching psychiatrist asked me what I thought, and I told him how frigtening I found it given what I knew about Bryn Mawr. He asked me if I found out that she thought the television was talking to her.  Basically by yapping when she went off track, I kept her sane.

So I learned to shut up, and let people tell me what was wrong with them.  This is why Biden likely did well during the debates. The short time given to answer and the barrage of questions and interruptions kept him focused.

It really came home as I looked at the whole 8 minutes of the second clip trying to find the brief period of confusion.  Please look at the whole clip yourself and draw your own conclusions.  I see a pleasant,  rambling, slow thinking,  occasionally confused old man.

 

This is what early dementia looks like.

I was severely criticized by a follower after the first post.  Here it is,  “Issuing alarmist statements about his mental health is reprehensible. You are not his physician. Moreover, armchair diagnosis is frowned upon by the American Psychiatric Association.I’ve been following your blog for several years and also have been reading you comments on the “in the pipeline” blog. On the basis of that experience I had not expected to stoop that low.”

In my defense, I was defeated by the new WordPress editor which wouldn’t let me bring in the evidence shown here.  Apparently it was a (still extant) incompatibility of Safari with the editor.   I was still impressed enough by how confused Biden looked that I posted it anyway.

As the late Carl Sagan said “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. So here is the evidence (finally).  Apologies for the delay.

As children, our least favorite explanation was ‘because I say so’.

Essentially that’s part of what I’m offering here.  I was involved in clinical neurology from ’67 to ’00, and at a minimum saw at least 1 demented patient a week during that time.  That’s an underestimate, as I’d make rounds on other neurologists patients when covering weekends.  I doubt that anyone reading this has similar extensive experience.

So Biden just looks like all the early dementia patients I saw during that time.  Given my experience, I think that should carry some weight.

The fact that Biden appears sharp at times is typical of early stage dementia.  I’ve certainly seen it in family and friends, with such things being excused as ‘it must have been the heat’ or ‘they must not have been feeling well’.

Why is this important?  Khrushchev’s estimate of President Kennedy’s weakness lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Khrushchev’s son confirmed this when he spoke at the Kennedy Center at Harvard.   Kennedy was receiving narcotics for his back.  The side effects of what little medicines we had back then weren’t appreciated.  Example: thyroid and amphetamines were used to help people lose weight.

Biden does not appear mentally strong to Putin or Xi (or me).

• Yes women undergraduates at Bryn Mawr and other members of the seven sisters called themselves girls (or at least were called that by males wishing to date them).  According my wife, who just corrected me,  Bryn Mawr undergraduates called themselves women, in contrast to a nearby educational institution which advertised “Are you a Harcum Girl?”  Similarly, 10 years later Native Americans in Montana called themselves Indians, not having the benefit of the linguistic and moral improvements to which we have currently ascended.

 

 

Biden’s cerebral aneurysm