A Parkinson’s disease expert visited the White House several times over the past year, including a January meeting with President Joe Biden’s personal doctor, NBC News confirmed on Monday.
Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson’s, visited the White House at least eight times over an eight-month period, as confirmed by public visitor logs stretching until March. Several news outlets previously reported the doctor’s visits.
The logs did not specify why Cannard was at the White House, who he was there to see or whether Biden was present during his visits.
Biden’s physical fitness has been a lingering public concern throughout his term. But those worries turned into a full-fledged panic when over 51 million viewers watched him stammer through the June debate against former President Donald Trump.
In response to the reports of Cannard’s visits, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said that Biden’s medical exams have “found no sign of Parkinson’s, and he is not being treated for it.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t supply more information about the Parkinson’s doctor’s visits during Monday’s press briefing.
“For security reasons, we cannot share names,” Jean-Pierre said, though Cannard’s name was included in the public logs.
“It doesn’t matter how hard you push me. It doesn’t matter how angry you get with me. I’m not going to confirm a name. It doesn’t matter if it’s even in the log. I am not going to do that from here. That is not something I am going to do,” she said.
‘Not going anywhere’
On Monday morning, Biden defended his place at the top of the Democratic ticket in a surprise“Morning Joe” and on a call with Democratic donors.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Biden said in the televised phone interview. “I absolutely believe that I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”
Since Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27, various Democratic donors have been sounding the alarm on whether he can beat Trump in November.
“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites in the party” calling for him to step down, the president fumed on MSNBC. “I don’t care what the millionaires think.”
Biden insisted to hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that the concerns of his wealthy backers would not dictate his political future.
“I want their support, but that’s not the reason I’m running,” Biden said. “I’m not running about what they think and what they care about. And by the way, you don’t see a whole hell of a lot of them flocking to Trump. You don’t see a whole lot of CEOs flocking to Trump.”
“I’m not going to explain any more about what I should or shouldn’t do,” the president added defiantly. “I am running. I am running.”
