President Joe Biden’s personal doctor met a Parkinson’s disease expert affiliated with the Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this year, White House visitor logs show.
White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor met Parkinson’s expert Dr. Kevin Cannard and two others at the White House in January, according to visitor logs first reported by the New York Post. Cannard is a longtime neurologist at Walter Reed and an expert in movement disorders.
Walter Reed cardiologist Dr. John Atwood also attended the January meeting. It’s unclear who the fourth attendee was. Both doctors declined to comment to the Post.
“A wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds,” a White House spokesman told the outlet.
Cannard co-authored a paper last year on the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease and is actively researching the disease with Vanderbilt University partners, according to his Doximity profile.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s normally include movement issues, tremors, impaired balance, and speech changes, according to the Mayo Clinic. The symptoms develop over time and often begin on one side of the body.
In the wake of Biden’s disastrous first presidential debate performance last month, O’Connor has received fresh scrutiny for his handling of Biden’s health. At the debate, Biden often slurred his words and struggled to form coherent sentences as he went up against an uncharacteristically restrained version of former president Donald Trump.
Following the debate, Democrats have openly panicked about the future of Biden’s candidacy and numerous news reports have come out detailing Biden’s age-related struggles. Some Democrats have publicly called on him to step aside or strongly consider doing so with the party’s convention fast approaching.
The White House said on Friday Biden recently checked in with O’Connor about the apparent cold he had during the debate, an issue that was unknown until midway through. Days earlier, the White House said Biden had not undergone any medical examinations since Biden’s annual physical in February.
O’Connor and the entire White House medical team determined Biden to be fit for office based on the results of the physical, and ruled out the possibility Biden could have Parkinson’s. The physical does not appear to have included a cognitive test.
To clear up the speculation, CNN medical analyst Sanjay Gupta is calling for Biden to take a detailed neurological examination and publicize the results. Gupta expressed worries about Biden’s apparent confusion, inability to concentrate, and open-mouthed facial expression.
Biden’s highly-anticipated interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday failed to mitigate widespread concerns about his age and mental capacity. During the interview, Biden strongly rejected the possibility of receiving an independent administered cognitive test and claimed the debate was simply a bad night.