Global Courant
representative Kate Porter (D-Calif.) had a short, sharp response to a Fox News reporter who approached with a question about the unexpected root canal treatment that President Joe Biden underwent earlier this week.
Hillary Vaughn noted to Porter how Biden had to “take time off from work” for the treatment, then seemed to push the right-wing talking point that Biden is not fit for office when she asked, “Do you think he has the stamina for a second semester?”
Porter answered without delay, “Have you ever had a root canal?”
The moment went viral on Twitter and was viewed millions of times.
Porter, who is running for a Senate seat next year, later shared video of the exchange.
She wished Biden a “speedy recovery”.
Watch the video here:
Biden missed a scheduled appearance at a college sporting event at the White House on Monday and moved a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to Tuesday.
He was not sedated, so the power of the presidency did not temporarily pass to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden was back at work on Tuesday, even joking about his root canal treatment with Stoltenberg. “I’m sorry I had to reschedule yesterday,” the president said. “I had a lot of fun yesterday afternoon. I had a small toothache problem which they took care of.
The procedure to remove inflamed and/or infected pulp from the inside of the tooth may have been painful decades ago American Association of Endodontists admits on his website, but modern techniques now mean “you won’t experience more pain than if you had a cavity filled.”
