(New York) By announcing that Joe Biden was going to undergo a colonoscopy on Friday morning, the White House insisted that it was a “routine” intervention. But nothing that happens to the President of the United States is truly routine, as Donald Trump proved in his own way by hiding his own colonoscopy from the public in November 2019.
First, if the operation is performed under general anesthesia, the head of the White House temporarily finds himself unable to exercise his powers. Consequently, he must temporarily transfer them to the person who occupies the vice-presidency. What he can do thanks to section 3 of 25e amendment to the US Constitution, adopted after the assassination of John Kennedy.
Then, the case takes on a completely new dimension when the vice-presidency is occupied by a woman. So, from 10:10 a.m. to 11:35 a.m., Kamala Harris on Friday became the first woman to hold the powers of the American presidency, a precedent she no doubt dreams of repeating for a longer period. She was in her office in the west wing of the White House at the time.
PHOTO GAELEN MORSE, REUTERS
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
Before her, two other vice-presidents, George Bush Sr. and Dick Cheney, had temporarily inherited the powers of the presidency while their respective bosses were under anesthesia for a colonoscopy.
However, unlike Ronald Reagan, who had not immediately informed his vice-president and even less the public of the transfer of his powers during his colonoscopy, in 1985, Joe Biden played the card of transparency. He thus followed the precedent set by George W. Bush in 2002.
“What we have just seen here is a fairly rational and competent exercise of the law governing this particular situation,” said Press historian Matthew Algeo, who is interested in the health of presidents of the United States. “It’s good that we have such a system in place because, on occasion, presidents need to be numbed. “
Right to information
Donald Trump, it is surprisingly, refused to comply with this exercise. On November 16, 2019, he made an unscheduled visit to the Walter Reed Military Hospital. Visit that her spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, later described as the start of an annual medical exam. The rumor machine was quick to get carried away, with the media at the time giving little or no credibility to the White House’s explanations.
Grisham confirmed the doubts in his memoir, titled I’ll Take Your Questions Now – What I Saw at the Trump White House, published last October. There, she reveals that the former president went to Walter Reed for a colonoscopy. Not only did he not want to inform the public, but he also refused general anesthesia to avoid having to transfer his powers to Vice President Mike Pence.
According to Grisham, Donald Trump has chosen to remain silent on this medical episode so as not to be the “object of jokes” on the part of television comedians. For her part, she would have preferred to play the transparency card.
“I thought the American people had a right to know about the President’s health, and I still do,” Grisham wrote in his memoir. “I think the president was embarrassed by the intervention, even though President George W. Bush had the same operation while in office and was very transparent about it. “
In fact, George W. Bush had two colonoscopies during his presidency, one in 2002 and the other in 2007.
“I am the first president to have done it under these circumstances,” he explained after the first colonoscopy. “I did it because we are at war, and I want to be very careful. “
What about Barack Obama? He avoided having to transfer his powers to Joe Biden in 2010 by becoming the first President of the United States to undergo a virtual colonoscopy, a procedure that does not require anesthesia.
The fear of presidents
Donald Trump’s lack of transparency did not surprise Matthew Algeo. According to him, the 45e President possesses a trait shared by many of his predecessors: a vanity coupled with a fear of showing the slightest weakness on the physical plane.
Trump had a phobia of appearing weak. All presidents have this fear. And for some reason, Trump believed that having this procedure would make him look less healthy. Remember, he said he was going to be the healthiest man ever elected to the presidency.
Matthew Algeo, historian
“Obviously,” added the historian, “Biden, for a number of reasons, decided he wasn’t going to cover up his colonoscopy like Trump did. It is a normal intervention. While waiting for the results, there is no reason to believe that there is anything wrong with him. So you have two very different approaches to the exact same situation. “
In addition to a colonoscopy deemed “reassuring”, Joe Biden underwent a medical examination whose results show that he is “in good health”, “vigorous” and “fit” to perform his duties. The president, however, exhibits a stiffer gait and a persistent cough attributed to minor ailments, according to Dr.r Kevin O’Connor, physician to the president.
The 46e president celebrates this saturday his 79e birthday.