WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his three-yearly physicals since entering the White House, his doctor said in a letter Monday night, clarifying that the Parkinson’s disease specialist’s recent visit to the White House was not to meet with the president.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor’s letter comes in response to reports by USA Today and other outlets about Parkinson’s disease expert Dr. Kevin Canard, who accompanied Dr. O’Connor, the president’s physician, to the White House once and made eight visits over an eight-month period, according to official visitor records.
Cannard is a neurology specialist who supports the White House Medical Unit. His visit to the White House, as first reported by the New York Post, included one meeting with O’Connor and two others at the White House home clinic on Jan. 17.
But O’Connor sought to clarify in a Monday letter to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre that Biden was not involved in this or any other visit. “President Biden does not see a neurologist outside of his annual physical exam,” O’Connor wrote.
During a contentious press conference early Monday, Jean-Pierre did not say why Parkinson’s disease experts had made multiple visits to the White House or who the experts visited.
Jean-Pierre said “thousands of military personnel” are on the White House grounds, “many of whom receive care from the White House Medical Unit,” but she would not say more about Canard’s visit, citing the doctor’s “privacy.”
But Ms O’Connor expanded on Mr Jean-Pierre’s comments in her letter, saying Mr Cannard regularly hosts neurology clinics at the White House to support “the thousands of active duty military personnel who support the operation of the White House.”
“Many military members experience service-related neurological issues, and Dr. Canard visits WHMU regularly in connection with his general neurology practice,” O’Connor said.
Jean-Pierre said at an earlier press conference that Biden had undergone three neurological exams during his presidency, all during his annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, but did not say whether Candeau was visiting to meet with Biden or other White House officials.
O’Connor said Cannard was Biden’s neurologist during each of the president’s three medical examinations.
According to a medical summary, Biden’s most recent medical examination, in February of this year, “did not reveal any findings consistent with cerebellar or other central nervous system disease,” including Parkinson’s disease.
“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No,” Jean-Pierre said Monday. “Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No. I can answer these questions fully.”
Visitor logs released by the White House show visits from August 2023 through March of this year. The last recorded visit was on March 28. More recent visits, if any, will be released at a later date under the White House’s voluntary disclosure policy, according to the New York Times.
The revelation came in the wake of his dismal presidential debate performance, which called into question the octogenarian president’s intellectual acuity and sent Democrats into a steep decline with less than 120 days until the November election.
Biden has denied concerns about his age and mental health and rejected calls from some Democrats to drop out of the 2024 race, saying Democratic voters have already shown their support by voting for him overwhelmingly in the Democratic primary.
