It’s a ‘very emotional time for him and he isn’t showing it,’ said one doctor, also perceiving a ‘lack of conviction’

 By Melissa Rudy Fox News

Published July 24, 2024 10:01pm EDT

President Biden: The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation

President Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office for the first time since dropping out of the 2024 race.

After President Joe Biden’s address to the nation Wednesday night, multiple doctors shared their opinions with Fox News Digital about his perceived health status based on his live speech.

Seated in the Oval Office, the president spoke relatively briefly about his withdrawal from the 2024 race and his commitment to continuing to serve the country for the next few months. 

He did not mention his recent COVID-19 infection, ongoing concerns about his cognitive health, or the recent assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump.

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Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor — who has never treated the president — noted that Biden seemed to be reading from a teleprompter on Wednesday night, as he often does, making it difficult for those watching to gauge his medical fitness.

Although Biden stumbled over his words a few times, Siegel was more concerned about the president’s apparent “lack of emotion.”

President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, about his decision to drop his Democratic presidential reelection bid. (Getty Images)

“It is a very emotional time for him and he isn’t showing it,” the doctor told Fox News Digital after the speech. “He seems to lack conviction.”

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Siegel expressed concern that Biden “could be depressed and shocked by the current reality.”

“I feel compassion for him,” Siegel went on. “How can he quote from the Declaration [of Independence] without much conviction? I feel bad for him and for us.”

“It is a very emotional time for him and he isn’t showing it.”

Dr. Robert Lufkin, a California-based physician and medical school professor at UCLA and USC, also weighed in on Biden.

Lufkin noted that he has never examined Biden, but offered his observations based on Wednesday’s speech and recent media events.

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In previous appearances, Biden has shown signs of “cognitive deterioration,” the doctor told Fox News Digital.

“The findings in his previous presentations could have a variety of causes, including sleep deprivation, sedation, metabolic abnormalities or even neurodegenerative diseases.”

From left to right, Dr. Earnest Lee Murray; Dr. Marc Siegel; and Dr. Robert Lufkin offered observations about the president’s Wednesday night speech. (Dr. Earnest Lee Murray; Dr. Marc Siegel; Dr. Robert Lufkin)

Tonight’s short presentation appeared to be read from a teleprompter, Lufkin agreed — “which is less demanding than the more spontaneous Q&A debate format of some of his previous events.”

In previous appearances, such as the June 27 debate, Biden has shown “confused rambling, sudden loss of train of thought in the middle of a sentence, halting speech, and the repeated use of the word ‘anyway’ when lost in a sentence,” Lufkin noted.

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“Tonight, we did not see these in his presentation,” he said. “His delivery was fairly uniform without interruptions.”