Lanny Davis to Newsmax: Biden Should Take Cognitive Test

Political analyst and legal crisis manager Lanny Davis, who has known President Joe Biden for more than 50 years, told Newsmax on Thursday that Biden should take a cognitive test to help him decide whether to remain as the presumptive Democrat nominee for November's election.

Davis told "American Agenda" that Biden, 81, the oldest serving president in U.S. history, should use the cognitive test as evidence on whether he should stay in the race against former President Donald Trump.

His performance during last week's debate, where he mumbled, looked unsteady and lost his train of thought, raised alarms among Democrats about his apparent declining cognitive state, with many calling for him to withdraw from the race.

Echoing a theme in his column for RealClearPolitics published Wednesday, Davis said Biden should take his time and gather evidence, such as holding a news conference and town halls without teleprompters, along with the cognitive test, before he decides on his re-election bid.

"Of course, I think he should have a test of his cognitive abilities," Davis said. "I don't think it needs to be in public, but he certainly should have a medical exam and hasn't had since the debate.

"I'm a great fan and great friend of his, and I say it out of love and respect that what happened in the debate, as far as my eyes and ears told me, was not about one bad night. And it's a terrible mistake for the communication system to be speaking about it as if it was just one bad night."

Davis said the best way for Biden to start addressing such concerns would be with a scheduled interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, a former Democrat operative in the Clinton administration. The interview, which will not be live, is scheduled to air Friday.

"I know that Stephanopoulos will be tough when he asks him questions, and we'll see how he responds," Davis said. "I did say in my column that if he can prove to himself that he had only one bad night and it's not something broader than that, the only way to get that evidence is to have a very tough cross-examination kind of press conference and see how he does in town hall meetings without a teleprompter.

"Then we'll be able to see better. … I trust him to make the right decision."

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