The White House is now attempting to limit the damage after reports emerged that Joe Biden’s personal physician met with a leading neurologist and Parkinson’s specialist at the White House.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, met with Parkinson’s specialist Dr. Kevin Cannard and two others on January 17. New York Postt reports.
Cannard is a movement disorders specialist at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland.
This has fueled speculation about Biden’s health, which has been in question since his disastrous first debate with Donald Trump. Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre added fuel to the fire on Monday by saying the president has seen a neurologist three times.
On Monday, O’Connor released a letter with the consent of both Biden and Cannard, and confirmed that Cannard was the neurologist who has examined the president at each of his three medical exams since taking office.
The White House is now engaged in damage control after reports that Joe Biden’s personal physician met with a leading neurologist and Parkinson’s specialist at the White House
On Monday, Dr. Kevin O’Connor released a letter authorized by both Biden and Cannard, confirming that Cannard was the neurologist who had examined the president at each of his three medical exams since taking office.
But most of Cannard’s visits to the White House were in connection with his position as a specialist in the White House Medical Department, where he spent 12 years treating patients with a variety of neurological problems in the White House, O’Connor said.
He said Cannard “has regularly conducted neurology clinics in the White House Medical Clinic in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned to support White House operations.”
“Many military personnel experience neurological problems related to their service, and Dr. Canard visits the WHMU regularly as part of his general neurology practice,” he added. “That could explain some of the visits.”
Cannard made similar visits to the White House during the Obama administration, according to visitor logs, and during the Trump administration (which did not release visitor logs), according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named.
Cannard visited Biden’s personal physician at the White House clinic once in January, several weeks before the president’s medical exam in February.
O’Connor reiterated that the physical examination findings had revealed no signs of neurological impairment.
“Other than his annual physical, President Biden has never seen a neurologist,” O’Connor wrote in his letter.
During his appearances, he also expressed support for Cannard because of his work in the White House.
Cannard is a movement disorders specialist at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland
The White House declined to say whether they met Biden at the meeting, but the president was in Washington, D.C. at the time.
“Dr. Cannard was chosen for this responsibility not because he is a movement disorders specialist, but because he is a very well-trained and highly respected neurologist here at Walter Reed and in the Military Health System, with a very broad expertise that makes him flexible to see a variety of patients and problems,” he said.
Cannard has held his position at the Walter Reed Center for nearly 20 years.
According to his LinkedIn page, he has worked as a “neurology specialist supporting the White House Medical Department” since 2012.
Biden is being criticized by some Democrats, who say he is not mentally strong enough to run as their candidate against Trump in the presidential election on November 5.
The revelation comes amid mounting criticism of the president’s mental state following his car-crash debate with rival Donald Trump.
Biden, 81, has tried to quash rumors that he is unfit to lead and continues to insist he will run in the November election, but has declined to say whether he regularly undergoes formal cognitive testing.
“Look, I have a cognitive test every day,” Biden said Friday when asked about it by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, referring to the tasks he faces daily in his demanding job.
“Every day I have that test. Everything I do. You know, I’m not just campaigning, I’m running the world.”
Documents show the president was at the White House on the day of the January meeting with the medics, the same day he hosted House and Senate leaders to convince them to support additional funding for Ukraine.
The doctor gave Biden a clean bill of health during an annual checkup in February, which showed he did not suffer from Parkinson’s disease, O’Connor said at the time.
Since 2021, he has been the President’s physician and is in daily contact with him.
After the debate, the White House reported that Biden had a verbal “check-in” with his doctor.
Still, questions remain about his competence, especially after his first interview since the disastrous June 27 debate failed to allay fears.
Several Democrats had called for Biden to withdraw from the race after the debate, and they reiterated this call after yesterday’s ABC interview.
He accused the president and his wife of trying to cover up his state of mind.
“I believe he and Jill Biden led the cover-up,” Jackson said.
‘Kevin O’Connor is like a son to Jill Biden — she loves him. It’s crazy.
‘Kevin O’Connor was in office on day one of the Biden administration because they knew they could trust Kevin to say and do whatever needed to be said and done and to cover up whatever needed to be covered up. He’s part of the Biden family.’
Jean-Pierre sometimes struggled to be heard amid all the questions about the 81-year-old president’s health.
She confirmed that he had been examined by a neurologist three times, but declined to say why a Parkinson’s specialist had visited the White House eight times in eight months, citing privacy and security concerns.
But that only led to a commotion among the usually docile front row of reporters, who bombarded her with demands for a proper explanation.