Joe Biden Accused of Having Plastic Surgery by Republican: 'So Much Botox'

U.S. President Joe Biden has been accused by a Republican congressman and doctor of having "so much botox" during scathing criticism of the Democratic incumbent's decision to seek reelection.

Rep. Greg Murphy of North Carolina, formerly an affiliate professor of surgery and chief of the division of urology at the East Carolina University School of Medicine, said Biden had undergone "so much plastic surgery" and "so much filler."

The conversation was part of a wider discussion of the president's health and mental acuity, which has faced questions particularly since he announced his intention to run for a second term.

Biden, who is already the oldest president in U.S. history, will be approaching his 82nd birthday when voters head to the polls in November 2024, and would be 86 by the time he finishes a potential second stint in the Oval Office.

His public slip-ups and stumbles have prompted questions about the 80-year-old's ability to cope with the demands of the presidency, but Biden has brushed off concerns about his physical and mental health.

In an interview with 60 Minutes in September 2022, when asked about his mental acuity, Biden said his mind was "focused," adding: "I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than a fly. There's not things that I don't do now that I did before, whether it's physical or mental—or anything else."

Speaking on Fox Business on Wednesday morning, Murphy said: "Let's look at Joe. He's had so much plastic surgery, so much botox, so much filler.

"That's on the outside. I deal in a surgical field that has a lot of older patients and so I have seen patients through the year decline mentally—it's just a fact, it's what happens."

Murphy went on to say Biden's alleged "outbursts" at staff spoke of "a form of dementia," as the president would be "frustrated" by an inability to communicate his thoughts.

Newsweek approached the White House via email for comment on Thursday.

Murphy is not the first to claim Biden has had plastic surgery. In 2019, several cosmetic surgeons said in the Washington Examiner that scars on the sides of Biden's cheeks were "obvious" signs of a facelift he allegedly had before his 2020 presidential run.

"Oh he's had a facelift, there's no question," Arthur Perry, a plastic surgeon and associate professor of surgery at Columbia University, told the outlet.

"The problem with Biden's surgery is that it's obvious," Cap Lesesne, a cosmetic surgeon based in New York, said in the article.

He added: "I've operated on several high-profile individuals, and I'd never let them look like that. Those are classic facelift scars. It's probably been over a year. I kind of feel bad for him. He should have had those scars removed."

In his summary of the president's health in February, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician, did not mention any plastic surgery, but said that Biden's "head, ears, eyes, nose and throat are normal."

He also noted "routine" skin cancer surveillance which included the removal of "several localized, non-melanoma skin cancers."

"As was done in November 2021, several small areas of actinic change on his face and head were treated with liquid nitrogen cryotherapy," the doctor added.

Overall, O'Connor said Biden "remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations."