UnitedStates President Joe Biden has had an unusually scratchy voice and the occasional cough all week, prompting questions from the press about his health.
But Biden has at least one thing in common with thousands of parents and grandparents: He caught a cold from his young grandson.
The president assured reporters that he is constantly tested for COVID-19 and is negative, and that he has been dealing with throat problems for a much less troubling reason.
“What I have is a year and a half grandson who has a cold and who likes to kiss his grandfather,” he said. “It’s just a cold.”
Biden spent Thanksgiving weekend with his family in Nantucket, and on Monday his grandson Beau – named after the president’s late son – was at the White House helping his grandmother receive the Christmas tree. .
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s primary care physician since 2009, said in a note Friday that Biden is “experiencing a bit of a stuffy nose this week.”
“You can hear it in his voice,” added O’Connor.
He wrote that Biden was tested for 19 “common respiratory pathogens,” including influenza, COVID-19 and strep, all of which were negative.
