Parkinson’s doctor has visited Biden White House regularly, report says
A doctor who is an expert on Parkinson’s disease reportedly visited the White House on a fairly regular basis in the past year, including at least once for a meeting with President Joe Biden’s personal physician.
Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who recently published a paper on Parkinson’s, made eight White House visits in an eight-month period from last summer through this past March, according to visitor logs obtained by The New York Times.
It’s unknown if Cannard, who works at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, has made any more recent visits because they would only be disclosed later this year under the White House’s voluntary program to release visitor logs.
The records do not show if the doctor met with Biden himself or if the visits included any discussions about the president’s health.
Cannard, who is described as a “movement disorders specialist,” met Jan. 17 with Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician, during one visit revealed by the report.
That meeting came about six weeks before Biden’s most recent annual physical exam performed by O’Connor, a checkup that gave him a clean bill of health.
The annual exam included an “extremely detailed neurologic exam” and “no findings which would be consistent with” Parkinson’s, which is a degenerative disease affecting the nervous system.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, at a press briefing, sharply rebuffed reporters’ efforts to get more information about Cannard’s visits.
She did say that Biden has met only three times with any neurologist since becoming president, apparently during his annual physicals, an assertion that seemed to rule out the possibility that Cannard has treated him in recent months.
“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No,” Jean-Pierre said.
The White House says Biden remains in good health and there has been no need for any additional neurological tests since the exam performed by O’Connor. The White House also suggested that Cannard’s visits were not related to Biden, although it didn’t specifically deny it.
“Walter Reed (specialists) visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds,” spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.
Biden, 81, sent Democratic supporters into a panic with a disjointed and sometimes incoherent performance at his debate with former President Donald Trump late last month.
The president, who claims he was suffering from a bad cold, often stared blankly into space while Trump spoke, raising concerns about his mental fitness. Some Parkinson’s patients suffer from similar symptoms.
Biden’s debate performance has elevated questions about his age and fitness to beat Trump and serve as president for four more years. He insists he is not even considering dropping out.
