Doctors who watched Joe Biden ‘s address to the nation tonight have revealed the subtle clues about the president’s health.
They pointed out that the speech was relatively short – coming in at just 11 minutes – and that Biden read exclusively from a teleprompter, making it difficult to make a definitive assessment of his mental and physical well-being.
However, Virginia neurologist Dr W Chris Winter picked up on the 81-year-old’s low blink rate.
‘I was counting the blink rate of all the ABC correspondents and guests before [the address] and they ranged from 30 to 60 per minute,’ he told DailyMail.com.
Doctors who watched Joe Biden ‘s address to the nation tonight have revealed the subtle clues about the president’s health. They warned his lack of blinking may suggest a neurological issue. His dry mouth and stiff hands implies cognitive decline. They also highlighted his generous application of makeup – likely to mask his pale skin
He said the president blinked fewer than 10 times per minute on average, well below the average of 15 to 20 that most people experience.
‘Low blink rate can be a sign of Parkinson’s Disease… an earlier sign of the disease,’ Dr Winter added.
Many medical experts have previously suggested Biden’s apparent cognitive decline could be due to his suffering from an early form of the condition, especially after it emerged a Parkinson’s doctor regularly visited the White House during Biden’s tenure.
Dr Ernst von Schwarz, a cardiologist in California, said Biden’s ‘dry mouth, fixed stare, very little… hand movements and gestures… could be signs of cognitive decline’ caused by his age, or ‘a neurodegenerative condition’ such as dementia.
But they could also be due to medication, the doctor told DailyMail.com.
‘Keep in mind that there are ways to improve someone’s speech by medical intervention,’ he said.
‘The use of medications such as psychostimulants (like Adderall or Ritalin among others) is very common for many to take just before lectures or presentations or official tasks since they increase dopamine availability in the brain.
From right: Jill Biden, Ashley Biden and husband Howard Krein, and Hunter Biden and his daughter Finnegan listen to Joe Biden speak
Biden moves to embrace his son Hunter after making his speech to the nation
‘This can then temporarily modify the trajectory of cognitive decline and improves speech, attention and the capability to communicate.
‘I am not saying that President Biden is on stimulants but it would not be that unusual to use.’
Biden addressed the nation for the first time tonight after revealing his decision to pull out of the presidential race in a shock announcement Sunday that is said to have caught even his close team by surprise.
Despite having nearly four days of practice, the president flubbed several lines and at times spoke so quietly that white noise could be heard during the broadcast.
Dr Winter said a low voice was another warning sign of Parkinson’s.
He suggested the quietness of Biden’s voice may have led technicians to turn up his microphones, leading to more background noise being picked up.
The doctors also highlighted Biden’s generous application of makeup.
They said he appeared more orange than usual, likely to mask the president’s pale skin, which may have gotten worse when he was unwell with Covid this past week.
‘Clearly there was lots of makeup. I think he is probably very pale, you could see it on the neckline,’ Dr von Schwarz said.
Biden comes in to hug his granddaughter Finnegan Biden as Hunter Biden watches after addressing the nation from the Oval Office of the White House
‘They put a lot of makeup on him to make him look healthy, but obviously he is not. He is very frail in my opinion.’
Both medics agreed that Biden appeared ‘no worse’ than at previous times over the past few months, which suggests that while he may be declining, it is not enough to warrant urgent medical attention.
But Dr von Schwarz added: ‘He was reading from a teleprompter which is just a repetition technique, which makes it hard to measure his intellectual capability.
‘But anyone can do that, you don’t need to be a genius to do so.’
He added: ‘A practiced speech read from a teleprompter is not proof for full mental or intellectual capacity.’
Both said it was also difficult to assess his movements because he remained seated for the full speech.
Biden was last seen looking frail while entering Air Force One on July 23
Dr Winter said: ‘Overall, I thought he did well.
‘He could sit there, talk with conviction, there was cadence in his voice – I don’t know if it proves anything but it certainly doesn’t continue to show a [rapid] decline.’
He added: ‘If that had happened three weeks ago, I don’t think anyone would have said they had lost confidence in Biden.’
Dr von Schwarz said: ‘In general, of course, I would have expected a good, sound and intelligible speech from President Biden today, and he did well.
‘From my point of view of dealing daily with the elderly as a cardiologist and aging researcher, I think President Biden is an octogenarian… who deserves to get more rest, support and appropriate medical attention.’
