Concerns about President Biden's health are at an all-time high following his disastrous debate performance against former President Trump, which has only been exacerbated by reports showing a neurological specialist repeatedly visited the White House during the 46th president's administration.
Parkinson’s disease specialist Dr. Kevin Cannard visited the White House eight times over an eight-month period between July 2023 and March of this year, raising concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and health — concerns that have been mounting for years. However, the White House has repeatedly downplayed concerns about the visits, arguing that the White House Medical Unit is staffed by many different health care professionals who frequent 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and that Cannard only saw Biden for his annual physicals.
Cannard describes himself on his LinkedIn page as a “neurology specialist supporting the White House Medical Unit” who has worked in various capacities at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, since 1998. The Maryland-based doctor was thrust into the spotlight after news broke of his repeated visits to the White House last week, though Cannard had previously kept a low profile outside the medical world.
“[Cannard’s] “His practice encompasses both general neurology and movement disorders as part of the residency training program at Walter Reed,” reads a bio of Cannard on a networking platform for medical professionals. “He has over 30 years of experience using botulinum toxin for the treatment of movement disorders, spasticity, and pain syndromes including headache. The first 20 years of his medical career were spent on active duty in the U.S. Army, retiring as a colonel in 2008. He has been a civilian physician at Walter Reed since then.”
WHO IS WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN DR. KEVIN O'CONNOR AND WHAT ARE HIS CLOSE TIES TO THE BIDEN FAMILY?
President Biden has insisted he has no intention of stepping aside. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Cannard has also made a handful of small donations to Biden’s campaign dating back to 2020 that total $3,300. Federal election records show it.
On Monday, during the White House press briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed by the media during a heated exchange to speak about whether the eight visits were specifically related to Biden’s health. Jean-Pierre instead declined to confirm Cannard’s name. She did confirm that a neurologist had examined Biden three times for his three annual physicals since taking office.
“They're in the White House visitor logs. It's public. I looked it up before I came here. It's there for anyone to see,” CBS News reporter Ed O'Keefe said Monday at the news conference when he asked the press secretary about Cannard appearing eight times on the White House visitor logs.
COMER REVEALS WHITE HOUSE DOCTOR WAS INVOLVED IN BIDEN FAMILY BUSINESS DEALINGS AND DEMANDS HE TESTIFY
“I can't confirm any of that from here because we have to protect their privacy. I think they would appreciate it too,” Jean-Pierre said.
“The patient or the doctor?” O'Keefe asked.
“We have to protect your privacy,” Jean-Pierre replied.
“It's public,” NBC News correspondent Kelly O'Donnell said, while O'Keffe added: “You're going to let this fester any longer, Karine, unless the White House answers the question.”
PARKINSON'S DISEASE SPECIALIST MET WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN'S DOCTOR AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House on July 8, 2024. Reporters asked a range of questions related to the NATO summit and President Biden's health. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
On 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's a movement disorders specialist, but because he's a highly trained and highly respected neurologist here at Walter Reed and throughout the Military Health System, with a very broad background that makes him flexible to see a variety of patients and problems.”
The letter added that Biden did not see a neurologist outside of his annual physicals.
Biden's doctor says neurologist visited the White House as part of annual checkups
O'Connor said Biden's physical exam in February found no signs of neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, ascending lateral sclerosis, stroke or cervical myelopathy.
On Tuesday, Jean-Pierre was questioned again about Cannard's visits, where he wrongly said one of the meetings this year was not related to Biden's health.
The White House seen from Lafayette Park on May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
“Can you tell me if that meeting [between Cannard and O’Connor] “Was it related to the care of the president himself?” AP asked Jean-Pierre during Tuesday's news conference.
“I can say no,” Jean-Pierre replied.
The press secretary later on Tuesday backtracked that Cannard’s Jan. 17 meeting at the White House was, in fact, related to Biden’s health, specifically the president’s annual physical.
CRITICISM OF BIDEN AS A 'SHADOW' OF HIMSELF INCREASES AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE: 'NOT THE SAME MAN' AS IN THE VP ERA
“Since the date was not mentioned in the question, I want to make it clear that the meeting on January 17 between [presidential physician] Dr. [Kevin] “O'Connor and Dr. Cannard were present at the president's physical examination,” Jean-Pierre told The Associated Press.
“This was one of three times the President has seen Dr. Cannard, and each time was for a physical examination. The results of each examination have been made public,” Jean-Pierre added.
Asked whether it would be typical for another physician, such as a dermatologist or cardiologist, to visit the White House eight times in eight months, an administration spokesperson 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.
“There are thousands of military personnel, so it's also understandable why there are 3,000 military personnel who come here and not only do they come here, but they are under the care of the medical unit. Right? They get care from the White House Medical Unit. There are usually dermatologists, or dermatologists and neurologists who come here because the White House Medical Unit is actually taking care of the people,” he said, according to the official transcript.
Concerns about Biden's mental acuity increased last month, when He had a botched performance in the debate This included losing his train of thought at times and giving confusing answers in a muffled, hoarse voice. The debate sparked panic among Democratic allies and members of the media, who commented that his debate performance was a failure that added fuel to the fire around concerns about Biden's mental acuity and age.
President Biden has insisted his poor performance was not due to a serious health issue, instead arguing that he was out of energy due to his hectic schedule and was battling a cold. (Fake Images)
Amid the fallout from the debate, as well as his first media interview last week that did little to ease concerns, Biden has vowed to stay in the race.
Last week, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Biden was pressed on whether He would take a cognitive test and publish the results, something Biden has repeatedly avoided.
“No, nobody said I had to do it… They said I'm fine,” Biden replied.
Top Democrats plan meeting on Biden's future despite president's promises to continue campaigning
This week, he joined MSNBC and reaffirmed that his poor performance was not due to a serious health issue, instead arguing that he was running low on energy due to his hectic schedule and was battling a cold.
“If something went wrong that night, it's not like something just comes and goes away overnight,” he said. “That's why I've been out on the streets. I've been testing myself, testing myself everywhere I've gone. Going out and standing up for myself. The night of that debate, I went out. I was out until 2 a.m. that same night. That same night. It drives me crazy that people are talking about this.”
Joe Biden as vice president, left, and today. (Fake Images)
Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson served as the president's physician during both the Obama and Trump administrations, having previously worked in the White House Medical Unit during the George W. Bush administration. Jackson told Fox News Digital after the debate that Biden is “not the same man” from his days as President Obama's vice president.
“In 2020, I criticized nominee Joe Biden for his apparent lack of fitness for his potential first term,” he said. “I was in the White House when Joe Biden was vice president, and the man we have seen since he announced his candidacy is not the same man who was vice president for eight years.”
WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING FILLED WITH EMOTION AS KJP SAYS BIDEN ISN'T GETTING TREATMENT FOR PARKINSON'S
Although other doctors have not examined Biden or released information about his mental and physical condition, questions have flared about whether he has Parkinson's, with outside doctors saying the president shows classic signs of the brain disorder.
“I could have diagnosed him from across the mall,” neurologist Dr. Tom Pitts recently told NBC News.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“He has the classic features of neurodegeneration, word-finding difficulties, and it's not, 'Oh, I couldn't find the word,' that's due to degeneration of the word retrieval area,” Pitts said.
The White House maintains that Biden has not received treatment for Parkinson's and is not currently receiving treatment for the disorder.
“Has the president been treated for Parkinson's? No,” Jean-Pierre said Monday. “Is he being treated for Parkinson's? No, he's not. Is he on medication for Parkinson's? No. So those are the things I can give you full answers on.”
