The health of President Biden has become a topic of intense debate following his lackluster performance in a debate against former President Trump.
This concern has been amplified by reports of frequent visits to the White House by a neurological specialist during Biden's tenure as the 46th President.
Dr. Kevin Cannard, a specialist in Parkinsons disease, has been recorded visiting the White House eight times over an eight-month period from July 2023 to March of the current year. This has intensified the already growing apprehension about Biden's mental acuity and overall health. However, the White House has consistently downplayed these concerns, asserting that the White House Medical Unit comprises various health professionals who regularly visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and that Dr. Cannard only saw Biden for his annual physicals.
According to Fox News, Dr. Cannard identifies himself on his LinkedIn page as a "Neurology specialist supporting the White House Medical Unit." He has been associated with Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, in various capacities since 1998. The Maryland-based doctor came into the limelight after news of his repeated visits to the White House broke last week. Prior to this, Dr. Cannard had maintained a low profile outside the medical world.
A biography for Dr. Cannard on a networking platform for medical professionals states, "[Cannards] practice encompasses both general neurology as well as movement disorders as part of the residency training program at Walter Reed." It further details his over 30 years of experience in the use of botulinum toxin for the treatment of movement disorders, spasticity, and pain syndromes, including headaches. The first 20 years of his medical career were spent on active duty in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Colonel in 2008. Since then, he has been a civilian physician at Walter Reed.
Federal election records reveal that Dr. Cannard has made several small donations to the Biden campaign since 2020, totaling $3,300.
During a White House press briefing on Monday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was questioned about whether the eight visits by Dr. Cannard were specifically related to Bidens health. Jean-Pierre declined to confirm Dr. Cannard by name but did confirm that a neurologist had examined Biden three times for his three yearly physicals since taking office.
CBS News reporter Ed OKeefe, during the press briefing, pointed out that Dr. Cannard's name appears eight times on White House visitor logs. "Theyre in the White House visitor logs. Its public. I looked it up before I came out here. It is right there for anyone to see," OKeefe said. However, Jean-Pierre responded, "I cannot from here confirm any of that because we have to keep their privacy. I think they would appreciate that too."
When asked by OKeefe whether she was referring to the privacy of the patient or the doctor, Jean-Pierre simply reiterated, "We have to keep their privacy."
NBC News correspondent Kelly ODonnell interjected, stating, "It is public," while OKeffe added, "youre going to allow this to fester longer, Karine, unless the White House just answers the question."
By Monday evening, Bidens White House physician, Dr. Kevin OConnor, released a statement clarifying that Dr. Cannard visited the White House three times for Biden's annual physicals. He explained that Dr. Cannard was chosen for Biden's annual physicals "not because he is a movement disorder specialist, but because he is a highly trained and highly regarded neurologist here at Walter Reed and across the Military Health System, with a very wide expertise which makes him flexible to see a variety of patients and problems."
The statement further clarified that Biden did not see a neurologist outside his annual physicals. It also confirmed that no signs of neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, ascending lateral sclerosis, stroke or cervical myelopathy, were found during Biden's physical in February.
On Tuesday, Jean-Pierre was questioned again about Dr. Cannards visits. She initially stated that one of the meetings this year was not related to Bidens health. However, she later corrected herself, stating that Dr. Cannards Jan. 17 meeting at the White House was indeed related to Bidens health, specifically his yearly physical.
"Because the date was not mentioned in the question, I want to be clear that the Jan. 17 meeting between [presidential physician] Dr. [Kevin] OConnor and Dr. Cannard was for the Presidents physical," Jean-Pierre told The Associated Press. "It was one of the three times the President has seen Dr. Cannard, each time for his physical. The findings from each exam have been released to the public," she added.
When asked if it would be typical for another doctor, such as a dermatologist or cardiologist, to visit the White House eight times in eight months, an administration spokesman directed Fox Digital to Jean-Pierre's comments earlier this week. She highlighted that the White House Medical Unit also oversees military personnel at the White House.
"There are thousands of military personnel so you also have an understanding because there are thir- a thousand military personnel that comes here and that not just comes here but under the care of the medical unit. Right? They get they get care from the White House Medical Unit. They there tends to be dermatologist from or dermatologist to neurolog- neurologists who come through here who come through here because the White House Medical Unit is i- indeed caring for folks," she said, according to the official transcript.
Last month, concerns over Bidens mental sharpness escalated when he delivered a flawed debate performance that included losing his train of thought at times and giving garbled answers in a subdued and raspy voice. This performance sparked panic among Democratic allies and members of the media, who remarked that his debate performance was a failure that added fuel to the fire surrounding concerns about Bidens mental acuity and age.
Despite the fallout from the debate and his first sit-down interview with the media last week that did not help quell concerns, Biden has vowed to stay in the race.
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos last week, Biden was asked whether he would take a cognitive test and release the results to the public, which he repeatedly dodged. "No, no one said I had to. They said I'm good," Biden responded.
This week, he appeared on MSNBC and reiterated that his poor performance was not due to a serious health issue. Instead, he argued that he was running on empty due to his chaotic schedule and was battling a cold. "If there was something that was wrong that night, its not like it comes and thats one night and it goes away," he said. "Thats why Ive been out. Ive been testing myself, testing everywhere I go. Going out and making the case. The night of that debate, I went out. I was out until 2 oclock in the morning that very night. That very night. It drives me nuts, people talking about this."
Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served as physician to the president during the Obama and Trump administrations, after previously serving in the White House Medical Unit in the George W. Bush administration, told Fox News Digital following the debate that Biden "is not the same man" from his days as President Obamas vice president.
"In 2020, I was criticizing candidate Joe Biden for his apparent lack of fitness for his first potential term," he said. "I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man weve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for eight years."
While other doctors have not examined Biden and released information on his mental and physical state, questions surrounding him having Parkinsons exploded, with outside doctors weighing in that the President shows classic signs of the brain disorder.
"I could have diagnosed him from across the mall," Dr. Tom Pitts, a neurologist, recently told NBC News. "He has the classic features of neurodegeneration, word-finding difficulties, and thats not, Oh, I couldnt find the word, thats from degeneration of the word retrieval area," Pitts said.
The White House maintains that Biden has not been treated for Parkinson's and is not currently being treated for the disorder. "Has the President been treated for Parkinsons? No," Jean-Pierre said Monday. "Is he being treated for Parkinsons? No, hes not. Is he taking medication for Parkinsons? No. So, those are the things that I can give you full-blown answers on."
Login