Rep. Kate Porter (D-Calif.) had a short and blunt response to a Fox News reporter approached with a question about a unexpected root canal dental procedure that President Joe Biden suffered earlier this week.
Hillary Vaughn pointed out to Porter how Biden “had to take time off work” for treatment, then appeared to push the right-wing talking point that Biden is unfit for office when she asked, “Do you think does he have the stamina for a second term?”
Porter, without breaking stride, replied, “Have you ever had a root canal?”
The moment went viral on Twitter, racking up millions of views.
Porter, who is running for Senate in the 2024 election, later shared a video of the exchange.
She wished Biden a “speedy recovery.”
Watch the clip here:
Biden missed a scheduled appearance at a White House college athlete event on Monday and rescheduled a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for Tuesday.
He was not anesthetized for his visit to the dentist, so the power of the presidency was not temporarily transferred to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden returned to work on Tuesday and even joked about his root canal with Stoltenberg.
“I apologize for having to reschedule yesterday,” the president said. “Yesterday afternoon I had a lot of fun. I had a little toothache problem which they took care of.”
A root canal, which removes the inflamed or infected pulp inside the tooth, was once a painful procedure, the American Association of Endodontics acknowledges on its website. But modern techniques mean “you won’t experience any more pain than if you were going to have a cavity filled,” the organization says.
