Washington
CNN
—
Records show a top Parkinson’s disease specialist met with President Joe Biden’s physician at the White House earlier this year, but the circumstances of the meeting are unclear.
Dr. Kevin Canard, a neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, met with White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor at the White House in mid-January, according to White House visitor records.
Visitor records show Cannard has visited the White House three times this year, meeting with O’Connor on Jan. 17 and with other staff members on Jan. 26 and March 28. Records show Cannard visited the White House at least eight times in the past year, from August of last year through the March 28 meeting. The only time O’Connor is listed as a visitor is for the Jan. 17 meeting.
Asked about Cannard and O’Connor’s visit, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said, “A variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit White House facilities to provide care to the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds.”
Those visits would include Biden’s annual visits with a neurologist for a physical, Bates said, adding that Biden has never seen a neurologist outside of annual physicals while in office.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later reiterated that Biden had seen the neurologist three times during his presidency — once for each medical exam — but declined to name the doctor or explain why Canard had visited the White House eight times in the past year.
She said she would not disclose the specialist’s name for security reasons. A public profile lists Canard as a neurology specialist supporting the White House Medical Unit.
“I’m not going to confirm or give names from here,” she said at a press conference that quickly turned controversial as Jean-Pierre dodged questions about the president’s health. “No matter how hard you press me, no matter how angry you get at me, I’m not going to confirm names. I don’t even care if they’re on the record. I’m not going to do that from here.”
Jean-Pierre added that Biden has never been treated for Parkinson’s disease or taken any medication to treat it.
Visitor records show that Cannard, who worked as a neurologist at Walter Reed Hospital for more than a decade, has visited the White House multiple times, but the reasons for the visits are not detailed and it is unclear whether Cannard was visiting in regards to Biden or someone else who works in the White House.
O’Connor’s latest health report on Biden said the president had been tested for several neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, with negative results, as were two other health reports from Biden’s presidency.
O’Connor’s six-page letter, released after the president’s final medical examination in February, said several specialists, including a neurologist, consulted on the medical.
O’Connor then reportedly convened several experts, including an unnamed movement disorder neurologist, to look into Biden’s stiff gait, which has been noted since his November 2021 physical.
The team concluded that Biden’s awkward gait was due to “wear and tear” in his spine and not a neurological disorder, O’Connor wrote, and “highly detailed” tests found no evidence consistent with Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis or any other neurological condition.
News of Canard’s visit comes as Biden is facing intense scrutiny over his age, health and mental state following his poor performance in the June 27 presidential debate with former President Donald Trump.
In the 11 days since that performance, Biden has had to defend his status as the top Democratic candidate and his ability to govern for another four years if re-elected. The White House and Biden have repeatedly been asked about testing and medical appointments in the months leading up to and immediately after the debate.
Asked in an ABC interview on Friday if he had undergone any special testing regarding his cognitive abilities, Biden said the president sees the White House physician regularly, adding, “Nobody’s told me I have to do that… They’ve said I’m OK.”
The president also added that he had spoken to his doctor, who told him he was “tired.” Biden said, “Part of being president means you get a full neurological exam every day.”
MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski, who spoke with Biden in an interview Monday morning, asked him specifically whether he had been tested for Parkinson’s disease recently, to which Biden confirmed that he had.
“Have you ever been tested for any age-related diseases or signs of Parkinson’s disease that could be causing you to have nights where you can’t finish a sentence?” the MSNBC host asked.
Biden responded with a laugh: “That was before.”
The president added: “I felt sick before the debate, so I came back and got tested. I thought maybe I had COVID-19, something was wrong, I had an infection or something. I got tested, and it came back normal.”
The White House and Biden’s campaign have blamed Biden’s poor performance in the debate on a hectic travel schedule in the past few weeks — he went to France to mark the anniversary of the Normandy landings and Italy to attend the G7 — and a cold.
The White House initially said Biden had not seen a doctor since the debate, but then reversed course after Biden told state governors at a meeting last week that he had undergone a medical check-up after the debate and was fine.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Arlette Saenz contributed to this report.
