Biden’s doctor denies that the president saw a neurologist outside of annual physical fitness tests
The White House has published a letter from the doctor of the US president, Joe Biden, after repeated questions about the president’s health and whether the alleged visits by a specialist in Parkinson’s disease specifically implicated the candidate for re-election in November, amid of speculation about his age and physical condition.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre stated at a press conference that the president is not receiving treatment for Parkinson’s in the face of repeated questions from journalists after records of medical visits published by ‘The New York Times’ ‘ and ‘The New York Post’ indicated that Kevin Cannard, an expert in this disease, had visited the presidential residence on eight occasions between the summer of 2023 and this spring.
“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, he is not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No,” said Jean-Pierre, who however refused to confirm doctor’s visits to the White House, citing “security reasons.”
Jean-Pierre has highlighted that Biden is seen by a neurologist when he undergoes annual medical tests. “Every time you have medical tests, you have to see a neurologist. That answers the question,” he said, before emphasizing that the authorities “cannot share the names” of the doctors who come to the White House, ” whether it’s a dermatologist or a neurologist.
Subsequently, the White House has published a letter from Biden’s personal doctor, Kevin O’Connor, in which he states that he has permission from the president and Cannard to provide details about these visits with the aim of achieving “accuracy” and specifies that “Cannard was the neurology specialist who examined Biden at his annual medical tests.”
O’Connor highlights that Cannard “has been a neurology expert before the White House medical unit since 2012” and emphasizes that “(Cannard’s) conclusions have been published each time the results of physical tests have been issued.” president’s annual reports. “President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual testing,” he reiterates.
Along these lines, he argues that “the results of this year’s tests were detailed” in his letter of February 28, in which he spoke of “an extremely detailed neurological examination” that determined that “there were no findings consistent with brain disorders or neurological”.
Finally, O’Connor emphasizes that Cannard has been “seeing patients in the White House for a decade” and adds that he has made regular visits to the White House medical unit “in support of thousands of active members destined to support White House operations.
Biden’s health has been a central topic in the events of recent weeks after the televised debate with the former president and Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, unleashing voices in his party in favor of him withdrawing and making way to another candidate, something that the president has ruled out.
Biden, who acknowledged that he had given a bad debate, something he attributed to campaign fatigue, has recently stated that he “is not going anywhere.” “I wouldn’t run if I didn’t fully believe that I was the best candidate to defeat Trump in 2024. We had a nomination process in the Democratic Party in which the voters spoke clearly,” he concluded.
