Republicans Say Biden Should Be Tested For ‘Artificial Stimulation’ Before Debate
Multiple Republicans have called for President Joe Biden to submit to a drug test before debating former president Donald Trump.
Advocates to drug test the president often cite his performance during his State of the Union speech earlier this year — when the 81-year-old seemed exceptionally lively compared to other public appearances.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina was asked on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” if Biden should take a drug test before the debate, to which he responded: “Why not?”
“The truth of the matter is if you saw the State of the Union and you watched that performance, it was surreal. There was something going on, and if we could find the truth of what it was, we’re all better off,” Scott said. “If it takes artificial stimulation to make the President of the United States perform, how often can he do that?”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida also called for Biden to be drug tested ahead of the debate.
“We’re talking about someone who has the ability to launch nukes,” Luna said. She added that questions over Biden’s mental competence are the reason House Republicans are seeking audio recordings of the president’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur – recordings that the White House has claimed executive privilege over.
Trump is the highest profile Republican to call for Biden to drug test, highlighting concerns that Biden’s cognitive abilities have declined significantly with age.
“I just want to debate this guy … and I’m going to demand a drug test too, by the way,” Trump said during a rally in Minnesota last week. “I am. No, I really am.”
“I don’t want him coming in like the State of the Union. He was high as a kite,” Trump added. “I said is that Joe up there? … And by the end of the evening … he was exhausted, right? No, we’re going to demand a drug test.”
North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy, a trained surgeon, said last week that Biden “must have been jacked up on something” during the speech.
“I absolutely believe that from a medical viewpoint, actually I have a little bit of good knowledge that that happened. He can’t stand it. He can’t stand under the lights for that long. And I don’t think he can keep a concept in his brain that long,” Murphy said.
