Joe Biden, 81, to undergo annual physical exam

Bethesda: US President Joe Biden said he would undergo a physical examination a military hospital in suburban Maryland on Wednesday, an assessment that will be closely watched as the 81-year-old seeks re-election to the White House in November.

The White House said it would publicly release a written summary of the Democratic president’s routine annual physical later on Wednesday.

This year's physical comes as Biden, a Democrat, and former Republican President Donald Trump, 77, prepare to face off in a likely rematch in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The two candidates have accused each other of mental decline. Trump's last rival for the Republican nomination, 52-year-old Nikki Haley, has said both men are too old to occupy the White House and should be subjected to cognitive tests.

Doctors declared Biden healthy and "fit for duty" in last year's physical examination, which included removing a lesion from his chest and declaring him free of symptoms of long COVID after his bout with the virus in 2022.