Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denies that a neurological specialist's repeated visits to the White House were related to President Biden's care, despite growing concerns about his health.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday dismissed concerns over the repeated visits of a Parkinson's disease specialist to the White House, stating that the meetings were not related to President Biden's health.
Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist with expertise in movement disorders, visited the White House eight times between July 2023 and March 2024, according to visitor logs. This has raised questions about Biden's mental acuity and health, especially after his widely criticized debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
White House Dismisses Concerns Over Parkinson's Specialist's Visits to Biden
However, Jean-Pierre denied that Cannard's visits were specifically for Biden's care. She confirmed that Cannard had seen Biden three times for his annual physicals since taking office.
"It is public. I looked it up before I came out here. It is right there for anyone to see," CBS News reporter Ed O'Keefe said Monday in the press briefing when questioning the press secretary about Cannard being listed eight times on White House visitor logs.
White House Dismisses Concerns Over Parkinson's Specialist's Visits to Biden
"I cannot from here confirm any of that because we have to keep their privacy. I think they would appreciate that too," Jean-Pierre said.
"The patient or the doctor?" O'Keefe asked.
White House Dismisses Concerns Over Parkinson's Specialist's Visits to Biden
"We have to keep their privacy," Jean-Pierre replied.
"It is public," NBC News correspondent Kelly O'Donnell jumped in to say, while O'Keffe added, "you're going to allow this to fester longer, Karine, unless the White House just answers the question."
White House Dismisses Concerns Over Parkinson's Specialist's Visits to Biden
By Monday evening, Biden's White House physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, released a statement clarifying that Cannard visited the White House three times for Biden's annual physicals. He said Cannard was chosen for Biden's annual physicals "not because he is a movement disorder specialist, but because he is a highly trained and highly regarded neurologist here at Walter Reed and across the Military Health System, with a very wide expertise which makes him flexible to see a variety of patients and problems."
The letter added that Biden did not see a neurologist outside his annual physicals.
White House Dismisses Concerns Over Parkinson's Specialist's Visits to Biden
Jean-Pierre was grilled yet again on Tuesday about Cannard's visits, where she erroneously said one of the meetings this year was not related to Biden's health.
"Can you say whether that one meeting [between Cannard and O'Connor] was related to care for the president himself?" the AP asked Jean-Pierre during the press briefing Tuesday.
White House Dismisses Concerns Over Parkinson's Specialist's Visits to Biden
"I can say that it was not," Jean-Pierre responded.
The press secretary backtracked later Tuesday that Cannard's Jan. 17 meeting at the White House was in fact related to Biden's health, specifically related to the president's yearly physical.
"Because the date was not mentioned in the question, I want to be clear that the Jan. 17 meeting between [presidential physician] Dr. [Kevin] O'Connor and Dr. Cannard was for the President's physical," Jean-Pierre told The Associated Press.
"It was one of the three times the President has seen Dr. Cannard, each time for his physical. The findings from each exam have been released to the public," Jean-Pierre added.
When asked if it would be typical if another doctor, such as a dermatologist or cardiologist, visited the White House eight times in eight months, an administration spokesman directed Fox Digital to Jean-Pierre's comments earlier this week highlighting that the White House Medical Unit also oversees military personnel at the White House.
Concern over Biden's mental sharpness swelled last month, when he delivered a botched debate performance that included losing his train of thought at times and giving garbled answers in a subdued and raspy voice. The debate unleashed panic among Democratic allies and members of the media, as they remarked his debate performance was a failure that added fuel to the fire surrounding concerns about Biden's mental acuity and age.
Amid the fallout from the debate, as well as his first sit-down interview with the media last week that did not help quell concerns, Biden has vowed to stay in the race.
Biden was pressed in an interview with George Stephanopoulos last week on whether he would take a cognitive test and release the results to the public, which Biden repeatedly dodged.
"No, no one said I had to.… They said I'm good," Biden responded.
This week, he joined MSNBC and doubled-down that his poor performance was not due to a serious health issue, instead arguing he was running on empty due to his chaotic schedule and was battling a cold.
"If there was something that was wrong that night, it's not like it comes and that's one night and it goes away," he said. "That's why I've been out. I've been testing myself, testing everywhere I go. Going out and making the case. The night of that debate, I went out. I was out until 2 o'clock in the morning that very night. That very night. It drives me nuts, people talking about this."
Outside doctors have weighed in on Biden's health, with some suggesting he shows classic signs of Parkinson's disease. However, the White House maintains that Biden has not been treated for Parkinson's and is not currently being treated for the disorder.
"Has the president been treated for Parkinson's? No," Jean-Pierre said Monday. "Is he being treated for Parkinsons? No, he's not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson's? No. So, those are the things that I can give you full-blown answers on."
