Palm Beach County Sheriff Bradshaw questions Biden’s mental ability

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, the most prominent and powerful elected official in the county, expressed doubt Wednesday about President Joe Biden’s mental acuity.

Bradshaw declined in an interview to say whether Biden should step aside as the party’s presidential nominee so another Democrat can lead the ticket.

Bradshaw, 76, is seeking a sixth term as sheriff.

Given the recent questions surrounding Biden, who is 81, Bradshaw  was asked if people should have any concerns about his fitness to serve another four years. If reelected, the sheriff would turn 80 during the final year of his next term.

“No,” he said. “People who know me know that I’m a young 76. My mental acuity is nowhere near the president’s.”

Bradshaw clarified what he meant during follow-up questions and answers — and it wasn’t positive about the president.

Reporter: “Sheriff, when you said ‘my mental acuity is nowhere near the president’s,’ what did you mean? Did you mean it wasn’t as good or it wasn’t as bad? What were you saying?”

Bradshaw: “It’s not as bad. We all watched the debate. We all watched the stumbling through it, and I felt really sad for him to be honest with you. But people will tell you I’m sharper than that.”

Biden’s disastrous performance in last month’s presidential debate, in which he sometimes fumbled answers and failed to complete his thoughts, prompted some Democratic elected officials and donors to worry that the party will lose the presidency, and possibly many other offices, if he remains the nominee.

The discussion occurred during an interview with opinion writers and a reporter for the South Florida Sun Sentinel as the newspaper’s Editorial Board weighs endorsements for the Aug. 20 Democratic primary for sheriff.

Bradshaw declined to say if he thinks Biden should step aside and let someone else have the nomination.

“Well, you know what, that’s a conversation that needs to be had between him, his family and his closest advisers. I’m not next to it like that. I never tell anybody to get out of the way. That’s kind of going to happen on its own because they’ll realize it’s their time,” Bradshaw said. “And it’s, it’s — they’ve got a lot of talking to do.”

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That didn’t come across as sounding like an endorsement of Biden staying as the head of the ticket.

“I don’t know,” Bradshaw responded. “To be honest with you, it’s not going to matter to me who’s the head of the ticket.”

Though he’s running for renomination in the Democratic primary, for most of Bradshaw’s election victories the office was nonpartisan until the Florida Supreme Court ruled nonpartisan elections for such jobs aren’t permissible under the state Constitution. (Bradshaw said he thought that decision was a mistake.)

“So I don’t think in terms of Democrat or Republican or independent. I think in terms of a lawman that wants to provide the best protection for this community. That’s how I make my decisions and that’s how I look forward every day to protecting the people,” Bradshaw said.

During his time in office, Bradshaw has often appeared with Republican elected officials, and supported their initiatives when he’s seen them as favoring law enforcement.

Bradshaw’s health

Bradshaw has had health issues midway through his current term.

In May 2022, the Sheriff’s Office announced he had a heart procedure, and was away from work for an extended period, prompting speculation in political circles that he might leave office early.

In July of that year, a video posted to the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page — featuring Bradshaw’s voice and a collage of past photographs — the sheriff said he “would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts during the past few weeks while I was dealing with a health issue. Despite all the rumors and misinformation regarding my health, I am out of the hospital at home and continue to recover. I’m feeling good and look forward to returning to the office very soon.”

On Wednesday, Bradshaw said he is physically able to serve.

“I’m in good health. I do everything that I need to do. I’m very active and most people say they can’t even keep up with my schedule,” he said. “So, you know, my health and my mental acuity is as good as it could be. And I’m perfectly fit to carry on this job.”

Alex Freeman, who lost to Bradshaw in 2020 and 2016 and is challenging him again, said in the Editorial Board interview that “word has been shared with me” that people in southern Palm Beach County are now supporting him for sheriff because they’re not sure Bradshaw would serve a full term if he wins reelection.

“Yes, that is a huge concern. Also in terms of health. He’s speaking very well about his health, but that is a huge concern that if he won again he might not fulfill those four years and so those folks down there are now supporting me,” Freeman said. He didn’t identify the purported supporters.

Bradshaw rejected the notion that he wouldn’t complete a sixth term. “I can tell you right now, I’ll be here every single day of the next four years.”

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.