Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that all nominees for president and every politician in the line of succession to become commander in chief should undergo a cognitive exam — including Donald Trump.
“This is a wake-up call for the country,” Graham told guest host Robert Costa on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We need to make sure that the people who are going to be in the line of succession are capable of being commanders in chief under dire circumstances.”
Graham pointed to the national security implications of concerns about President Joe Biden’s health, which have only grown since his disastrous debate performance against Trump in late June. He said he worries about the United States’ allies and enemies seeing a weakened Biden, especially with this week’s NATO summit in Washington.
“I’m offended by the idea that he shouldn’t take a competency test, given all the evidence in front of us,” Graham said. “He is not only in denial, this is a dangerous time for the American people to have somebody … leading the ship who seems to be compromised.”
Concerns about Biden’s current abilities have taken center stage after a debate in which the president stumbled over his words and struggled to combat Trump’s attacks.
On Friday, Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for his first televised interview since the debate to calm the panic brewing within his party — but House Democrats and top Democratic operatives told POLITICO shortly after they were upset that Biden is digging in. “I think that Friday night’s interview did not answer all the questions that people in my state have,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday morning.
During the interview, Biden described the debate as a “bad episode” and pinned his poor performance on exhaustion, a cold and inadequate preparation. He sidestepped questions about whether he was willing to take a neurological exam and present the results to the American people, instead saying running a campaign and the nation was his daily cognitive test.
A spokesperson for the Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from POLITICO.
Despite Biden remaining consistent in his desire to stay in the race, some Democrats and Republicans alike are imagining the possibility of someone else, notably Vice President Kamala Harris, rising to the top of the ticket. Both the potential for a Harris candidacy and Trump’s ongoing veepstakes means the vice president picks for both parties will be critical to the election, Graham said.
“If Biden steps down, Harris is going to have to pick somebody to help her,” Graham said. “If she does become the nominee, this is a dramatically different race than it is right now today. I hope people are thinking about that on our side.”
Under Graham’s cognitive testing proposal for nominees and leaders within the presidential line of succession, Biden, Trump, Harris, House Speaker Mike Johnson, President Pro Tempore of the Senate Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and, presumably, members of Biden’s Cabinet would be required to take an exam.
Graham cited his own direct predecessor in the U.S. Senate, Strom Thurmond, who was president of the Senate as he approached his 100th birthday, as a reason for “a neurological exam” further down the line of succession.
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