Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist specializing in Parkinson’s Disease, visited the White House at least eight times since last July, according to publicly viewable visitor logs. Doubts about President Biden’s mental and physical health have dominated American media since his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month.
The records show Cannard meeting with Megan Nasworthy – a White House liaison to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, seven times. On January 17 of this year, Dr. Cannard met with Biden’s personal physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, a cardiologist, and one other unidentified person.
Dr. Cannard was also a regular visitor to the White House while Biden was vice president, making ten trips there in 2012. It is unclear whether he visited during Donald Trump’s tenure as the administration did not disclose visitor logs.
Less than two months after Cannard and O’Connor’s meeting, Biden underwent his yearly checkup at Walter Reed. In a letter released after the examination, Dr. O’Connor stated that the president was given a “detailed neurologic exam,” which came up with “no findings which would be consistent with” Parkinson’s disease or other neurological disorders. However, Dr. O’Connor did not mention whether Biden was examined for signs of dementia.
Conservatives have long maintained that President Biden is in poor cognitive shape, pointing to the countless videos of the 81-year-old losing his train of thought, shaking hands with imaginary people, and recalling recent conversations with long-dead world leaders. In addition, a host of Democrat donors and liberal pundits have suddenly called on the president to suspend his reelection campaign in the wake of last month’s debate with Trump.
During the CNN-hosted showdown, a pale and visibly confused Biden struggled to finish his sentences, despite taking a week at the presidential retreat of Camp David to prepare for the event. Asked last week whether President Biden suffers from “Alzheimer’s, any form of dementia, or degenerative illness,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded “no.” Jean-Pierre added that a cognitive evaluation was “not warranted” in Biden’s case, and the president himself has also ruled out taking such a test, telling ABC News on Friday that he proves his fitness by “running the world” every day.
Parkinson’s Disease can cause tremors, impaired balance, and a distinctive shuffling gait, as well as cognitive impairment and memory loss, according to the National Institute on Aging. The New York Times reports that “an array of neurologists” have said they observed some of these symptoms in Biden during his public appearances but could not make a diagnosis without personally examining the president.