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Hours after a White House press briefing turned combative over questions about a neurologist's repeated visits to the White House, President Joe Biden's physician said that those appointments were not related to the president.
In a letter released by the White House on Monday night, Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician, said Biden has only been examined by Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders and Parkinson's disease, in each of his three annual physicals and on no other occasions:
Dr. Cannard was the neurological specialist that examined President Biden for each of his annual physicals. His findings have been made public each time I have released the results of the President’s annual physical. President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical.
O'Connor's letter was released after a testy White House press briefing earlier that day in which White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sidestepped questions about Cannard’s repeated visits to the White House. Several news outlets reported that visitor logs showed Cannard visiting the White House eight times in eight months.
Jean-Pierre said she could not confirm details about Cannard's visits due to “security reasons.” But she denied that Biden was being treated for Parkinson's disease or that he is taking medication for it. Cannard did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment, and the White House subsequently issued a statement that a “variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds.”
Biden's last annual physical was in February. In his report at the time, O'Connor deemed the president "a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male" who is fit to serve in office, but did not mention an evaluation of Biden's cognitive ability. At the time, Jean-Pierre said Biden's doctors determined he did not need a cognitive test.
It’s unclear if such an evaluation, on its own, is adequate to assess whether a person is fit for office. Biden himself has recently dismissed the idea of taking such a test. In an interview with ABC News last Friday, he said his duties as president are, in themselves, a test of his mental acuity. “Not only am I campaigning, I’m running the world,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed to have "aced" a recent cognitive test, though his campaign has yet to make public any such results.
Biden, already struggling with voters’ concerns about his age, has faced immense pressure from his party since his poor debate showing in late June. The president has remained defiant about staying in the race, saying he believes he’s still the best person to defeat Trump.
Congressional Republicans have sought to capitalize on the discussion about Biden’s age and mental fitness. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, whose impeachment inquiry into the president has largely fizzled out, asked O’Connor to appear for an interview about the president and has attempted to connect him to Biden’s relatives.