Defense alliance NATO’s summit begins today, Tuesday, in Washington. The meeting will talk about Ukraine in particular and its steps towards becoming a NATO member.
The attention has been drawn, however, to the President of the United States Joe Biden, 81, fit. The United States will hold presidential elections in November, and the first election debate between Biden and Donald Trump’s sometimes a good week ago ended in disaster for Biden. Biden froze, struggled and seemed shaky.
The pressure for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race is growing in the United States, and a number of Democratic politicians have already asked Biden to step aside.
Biden’s ability to act is therefore questioned. He would be 86 years old at the end of the next presidential term. Two geriatrics professors emeritus analyzed Biden’s condition for .
Geriatrics is a field of medicine focused on aging and comprehensive care of the elderly.
The geriatricians interviewed by evaluated Biden’s condition based on his public appearances. They do not have more detailed health information about him. The President of the United States is the most influential person in the world, and that is why it is essential for experts to assess his state of health.
– My perception of Biden’s ability to act has changed over the past year, even before the recent debate, professor emeritus Jaakko Valvanne says.
Valvanne has worked at the University of Tampere.
According to Valvantee, Biden’s condition seemed quite good a year ago, but since then a big change has taken place. Just a year ago, Valvanne evaluated Biden’s ability to function favorably.
– When this falling and then these mixing up words started to occur more and more, I thought that there must be more to it than just normal aging, says Valvanne.
– If the decline continues as fast as it has been for a year now, it’s hard to see that Biden would even make it to the inauguration. Four years seems impossible if the situation deteriorates at the same rate, says Valvanne.
In general, the slowing down of functions is about one percent per year, which means aging is moderate if you take care of your body, Valvanne says.
However, according to Valvantee, it seems that Biden’s health has deteriorated much faster.
– Normal aging does not progress this quickly. The thought arises, has something happened in the brain. Is there a progressive degenerative disease, an incipient memory disorder, or similar?
– That whole essence, slowness, stiffness and tendency to fall, raises the suspicion that there is some neurological disease, Valvanne thinks.
In Valvantee’s opinion, Biden should draw conclusions from his deteriorating condition.
– Biden’s wife should make her husband believe that now he urgently needs to step aside, the Finnish expert says.
Watch the video for examples of situations where Biden has messed up his words or fallen:
Emeritus Professor Timo Strandberg has commented on Biden’s health in the past and has brought up ageism. He emphasizes that there are many examples in history of ninety-year-olds who have been able to lead creditably.
– You don’t run that country with your feet. Roosevelt was in a wheelchair throughout his presidency, Strandberg says, referring to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served as president from 1933 to 1945 until his death.
Strandberg has worked as a professor at the universities of Helsinki and Oulu.
However, Strandberg admits that he, too, has begun to change his perception of Biden’s ability to act recently.
– I’ve looked at these very recent things, and I have to correct what I’ve said before, says Strandberg.
According to Strandberg, an elderly president can also have advantages over a younger one.
– Most of the wise are old, but not all old are wise, Strandberg spins.
Quick decision-making declines with age, but Strandberg doesn’t see that as just a bad thing.
However, Valvanne points out that the pace of modern times has changed.
– In the old days, things happened more slowly. There was a similar group of wise people around, with whom you could ponder things, but now the tempo is completely different, says Valvanne.
Biden has said that he suffers from sleep apnea and stated that after an unfortunate debate, he needs more sleep than before. He also said that he should no longer work after eight in the evening.
– You can ask if the leader of a superpower can go to bed at eight. Yes, it’s a 24-7 job, says Strandberg.
One of Valvante’s studies found that functional difficulties doubled every five years when 75-, 80- and 85-year-olds were screened.
– One of the definitions of aging is the weakening of stress tolerance.
What else is required of the President of the United States other than stress tolerance? Valvanne asks.
It is clear to Valvantee that he would vote for someone other than Biden because of this condition, if he were an American. Strandberg, on the other hand, would vote for Biden.
Neither would vote for Trump.