A Parkinson's Expert Has Visited the White House 8 Times Since Last Summer: Report

Although POTUS Joe Biden is no longer in the 2024 presidential race, the speculations around his declining mental health are still dominating the headlines. The 81-year-old, has been scrutinized for freezing during speeches, missing cues, stumbles, and verbal gaffes. Amid all this, The New York Times reported that a Parkinson's expert visited the White House multiple times. 

Apparently, a neurologist, Dr. Kevin Cannard, who recently published a paper on Parkinson's and specializes in movement disorders, paid a visit to the Presidential Palace eight times in eight months from last summer to this spring. According to official visitor logs, out of those eight trips, one time, he even had a meeting with Biden's personal physician. The logs document visits from July 2023 through March this year under the White House's voluntary disclosure policy. 

However, it is unclear whether he met the Democrat specifically or for other unrelated meetings. Dr. Cannard has been serving the White House officials and their families for over a decade. His social media platform, such as LinkedIn, describes his profile as 'supporting the White House Medical Unit' for more than 12 years, including during the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. 

Amid the curiosity around the POTUS' health, his doctor released a letter later on Monday, July 8, 2024, shedding light on the Parkinson's expert's numerous visits to The White House. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician, said that Cannard has been a longstanding in-house neurology consultant to the official residence's medical unit. While he did check Biden for his three annual physicals, he also looks after the active-duty military members. 

The letter further explained, "Seeing patients at the White House is something that Dr. Cannard has been doing for a dozen years." Meanwhile, the letter further explained Cannard hasn't been chosen because he's a Parkinson's expert but because of his 'wide expertise which makes him flexible to see a variety of patients and problems' as a well-trained medic at Walter Reed and across the Military Health System. 

This explanation of Dr. Cannard's visits was followed by a tense exchange between press secretary Karine Jean Pierre and the journalists who repeatedly asked her to reveal the name of the specialist (which she refused citing it would breach the privacy of those being treated in the White House). The back-and-forth clash and Jean Pierre's hesitation to answer some questions led to more concerns, as per Politico.

Biden's lacking mental sharpness was already gaining media attention but his disappointing performance at CNN's presidential debate against rival Trump cemented him as a frail, old man who needs to retire instead of running the United States. His critics demanded he resign immediately, and even his own people from the Democratic Party were reported to have talked to him about abandoning his re-election campaign, which he finally did on July 21, 2024. 

His stumbles, gaffes, and missteps may have been a weapon for his political rivals, but in an interview with MSNBC's Morning Joe, the 46th president of the US insisted, "I've been out. I've 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 o'clock in the morning that very night. That very night. It drives me nuts, people talking about this."