For weeks, Donald Trump has fueled wild speculation that President Joe Biden may be on drugs at their 90-minute presidential debate on Thursday.
‘DRUG TEST FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN??? I WOULD, ALSO, IMMEDIATELY AGREE TO ONE!!!’ Trump wrote on social media this week.
Echoing these demands, Ronny Jackson, a Republican congressman, Trump supporter and President Barack Obama‘s White House physician sent a letter to the current White House doctor on Monday calling for Biden to be tested before the showdown.
The Biden campaign responded on Wednesday, dismissing Team Trump’s requests as ‘silly.’ And Biden campaign spokesperson Adrienne Elrod pointed out that the former president lodged nearly the same accusations against Hillary Clinton before their debates in 2016 as well as Biden before they first went toe-to-toe in 2020.
Indeed, there was no evidence then or now that either teetotaling Biden or Clinton ever used or even contemplated using ‘performance-enhancing’ substances during debates.
President Joe Biden, 81, continues to demonstrate signs of physical and mental decline, but there is no evidence he is using performance enhancing drugs to get through the day.
However, the rampant conjecture has raised questions among voters and in the media: Do debate juicing drugs even exist?
Brett O’Donnell, a veteran Republican consultant who has prepped top GOP contenders for decades, said he’s never come across any ‘miracle drugs’ capable of transforming a candidate into a debate stage dynamo.
O’Donnell, who has coached the likes of President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain, recalled some candidates taking vitamin B-12 injections in the hopes of sharpening their focus and increasing energy levels.
And as the Director of Debate at Liberty University for nearly two decades, O’Donnell said some of his students swore by bee pollen – a natural mixture of flower pollen, bee secretions, honey, wax, and enzymes.
Neither supplement, in O’Donnell’s estimation, makes much of a difference.
He suggests Biden and Trump lean on Red Bull and energy drinks for proven results.
Last week, podcaster Joe Rogan proposed that the President’s team ‘fill him’ with ‘cognitive enhancers’ like Adderall, testosterone and human growth hormone.
‘DRUG TEST FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN??? I WOULD, ALSO, IMMEDIATELY AGREE TO ONE!!!’ Trump wrote on social media this week
Bob Reilly, crew chief, and cameraman Chris Hanson, above, both of CSpan, setup for the upcoming CNN Presidential Debate
US President Joe Biden waves as he walks to board Marine One. The president has spent the week preparing for the first presidential debate of 2024
But Dr. Carole Lieberman, a medical doctor and psychiatrist, who has raised questions over Biden’s mental fitness in the past, told DailyMail.com that some of Rogen’s prescriptions seem far-fetched.
‘Pharmaceutical stimulants like Adderall,’ Lieberman said, risk elevating heart rates and blood pressure to dangerous levels.
Testosterone can cause blood clots and trigger wild mood swings, especially when an individual is under pressure.
These all, surely, would be unacceptable risks for a Commander-in-Chief.
Rogan also suggested that Biden be given, ‘NAD infusions and IV vitamin infusions multiple days in a row,’ in the runup to the showdown.
NAD (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a coenzyme that can be prescribed to boost the metabolism of aging individuals. Intravenous infusions can quickly address vitamin deficiencies.
This combination of photos taken in Columbia, S.C. shows former President Donald Trump, left, on Feb. 24, 2024, and President Joe Biden on Jan. 27, 2024. The clash between Biden and Trump on Thursday, June 27, may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades.
In an aerial view, signage for a CNN presidential debate is seen outside of their studios inside the Turner Entertainment Networks
Dr. Lieberman said both treatments can incrementally aid focus and concentration, but there are possible side effects, like brain fog.
The drug modafinil is a non-amphetamine stimulant commonly prescribed to treat extreme sleepiness due to narcolepsy or other sleep disorders, like sleep apnea which Biden suffers from.
In March, the President’s doctor Kevin O’Connor revealed Biden had begun using a continuous positive airway pressure machine to treat the condition.
However, Dr. Lieberman said she doubted the President’s doctor would put him on such a powerful drug.
Treating moderate sleep apnea with modafinil would be like, ‘using a hammer to kill a fly,’ she said, and the drug’s troubling side effects, including headache, nausea, nervousness, and dizziness, would surely outweigh any potential benefits.
Dr. Elizabeth Landsverk, the author of the book ‘Living in the Moment — A Guide To Overcoming Challenges and Finding Moments of Joy in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias’ warned that artificial drugs like Adderall would be too risky for either Biden or Trump.
‘Instead of enhancing their debate skills, taking stimulants of this type will diminish their performance, making them appear “amped up,” irritable, confused, and unable to filter out the inappropriate,’ she said.
She also expressed concerns about Biden’s advanced age that would make it dangerous for him to take pharmaceutical stimulants, warning of a heart attack or a stroke.
‘Stimulants, other than a cup of coffee, would not enhance but diminish a debate performance,’ she said. ‘Instead, I would recommend a good night’s sleep the night before and going for a brisk walk right beforehand to get the blood flowing.’
The medical experts that DailyMail.com contacted concluded that there is really only one way for an 81-year-old man – or anyone – to physically prepare for a public debate.
Sufficient sleep, a healthy diet and a strong cup of coffee.