Will this episode revive speculation around the president’s state of health? US President Joe Biden, 80, has dental problems that are forcing him to review his agenda and in particular to postpone a meeting Monday with the head of NATO, the White House said.
The Democrat had already received “complication-free” tooth root treatment by a team at Walter Reed Military Hospital on Sunday, his personal physician said in a statement. The dental team of this hospital specializing in the care of American presidents must complete the procedure on Monday.
The American president therefore canceled all his commitments for the day on Monday. He thus postponed to Tuesday the meeting he was to have with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as a reception with ambassadors initially scheduled for Monday evening.
Age, a major handicap for Biden’s campaign
The dental procedure will be done at the White House and there will be no general anesthesia, the services of the American president said. Joe Biden will therefore not have to, as provided for in the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, temporarily transfer his powers to Vice President Kamala Harris. He had done it for almost an hour and a half on November 19, 2021, while he was under general anesthesia for a colonoscopy.
The vice-president, however, replaced him on Monday for an event with university athletes. According to his latest medical report published at the start of the year, Joe Biden, the oldest president ever elected in the United States, is in “good health”.
However, polls point to his age as a major handicap among voters. It is also a recurring angle of attack from his political opponents, in particular supporters of Donald Trump, himself 76 years old. If re-elected, Joe Biden would be 86 at the end of his second term.