Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday both President Biden and former President Trump should be willing to take cognitive tests as candidates for the White House this November.
“Look, I’d be happy if both the president and Donald Trump took cognitive tests,” Schiff told NBC News’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” when asked whether Biden should take a cognitive test.
“I think they both should be willing to take a test,” Schiff added when pressed again on whether Biden should take one. “I think, frankly, a test would show Donald Trump has a serious illness of one kind or another.”
Schiff’s interview comes amid pressure on Biden to prove he is still up for the task of president after a difficult debate that has prompted calls in the party for him to consider stepping aside at the top of the ticket.
Biden on Friday joined ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos for a high-stakes interview, in which the president pushed back on questions about whether he would be willing to undergo an independent medical evaluation, including neurological and cognitive tests, and release the results.
“Look, I have a cognitive test every single day. Every day I have that test; everything I do,” Biden said, adding that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier in the day.
Stephanopoulos pressed again, asking if he had the mental and physical capacity to do the job for another four years.
“I believe so. I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think I did,” Biden said. “I’m running again because I think I understand best what has to be done to take this nation to a completely new level. We’re on our way. We’re on our way.”
A source familiar with the Biden campaign’s thinking argued after the interview aired that Biden “demonstrates again and again he knows how to do this job” and that the campaign is ready to look past the debate.
“Ultimately, the decision is going to come down to what Joe Biden thinks is best,” Schiff said in the Sunday interview. “And if his decision is to run, then run hard and beat that SOB. And if his decision is to pass the torch, then the president should do everything in his power to make that other candidate successful.”