Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has called for drug tests to be conducted before presidential debates, raising concerns about President Joe Biden’s mental acuity.
“I think that we need to,” Luna stated in response to a question posed by Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo regarding proposals for pre-debate drug tests. “We’re talking about someone who has the ability to launch nukes.”
These calls come on the heels of an agreement between President Biden, 81, and former President Trump, 77, to participate in two debates, one in June and one in September. Trump has previously accused Biden of being “high as a kite” during the State of the Union address and has stated he would demand a drug test. Trump had been urging a debate for months, but Biden only recently consented.
Republicans have long questioned Biden’s mental fitness, citing frequent gaffes, moments of confusion, and other signs they interpret as indicative of cognitive decline. Recent polls suggest that a significant portion of voters share these concerns, with an Associated Press poll from March indicating that around 60% of Americans are not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental state, up from about 50% in January 2022.
Luna further explained that Republicans are eager to hear the audio from special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Biden to ensure that he is capable of making critical decisions. “Frankly, I’m not trying to be funny here, we don’t necessarily trust that he can do that right now,” she added. The White House has invoked executive privilege to obstruct access to these recordings.
Other Republican figures have also suggested that Biden may have used drugs to enhance his performance during major public appearances.
“I was in the State of the Union address and Joe Biden must have been jacked up on something that day. I absolutely believe that from a medical viewpoint and actually have a little bit of good knowledge that happened,” said Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), a licensed medical doctor, last week. “He can’t stand, and 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.”
Bartiromo posed a similar question to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., but he declined to take a position.
