Democracy Dies in Darkness

Biden remains ‘healthy, vigorous,’ doctor says after physical exam

The upcoming contest is likely to again raise questions on the president’s age and health

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February 16, 2023 at 5:47 p.m. EST
An aide brings an umbrella as President Biden exits Marine One in the rain and walks toward the Oval Office on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
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President Biden remains “a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute duties of the presidency,” his physician wrote in a memo released hours after the president underwent a routine annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Thursday morning.

Kevin O’Connor — who has been Biden’s primary care doctor since 2009 — wrote that the most notable update from Biden’s last physical in November 2021 was his coronavirus infection over the summer, but said the president has not experienced any lingering symptoms that could be characterized as “long covid.”