Joe Biden’s doctor gave a puzzling answer when asked if he was the president’s physician after he was mugged on the White House lawn.
Kevin O’Connor was walking down the ramp, trying to avoid the blockades of the anti-Israel protests, when reporters asked him if he was the president’s physician.
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” O’Connor replied as he walked quickly toward the White House.
The former US military doctor subsequently said that Biden’s health and mental cognition were “excellent” and that he saw no reason to require the president to take a cognitive test.
O’Connor, referred to simply as “Doc” by Biden and others in the White House, has been an important part of the president’s life for more than a decade and was a central figure in the family as Biden’s son Beau was dying of cancer.
Joe Biden’s physician, Kevin O’Connor, said Biden’s health and mental cognition were “excellent” and he saw no reason to have the president take a cognitive test
He responded with few words on Thursday as he tried to figure out how to implement heightened security during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit.
The elusive doctor has never given an interview or press conference since Biden took office in January 2021, or even before that, and rarely makes public statements.
When confronted with the New York Post on Thursday and asked if he was Biden’s doctor, he initially replied, “I don’t know. I don’t know,” before confirming that he was.
When asked about Biden’s health, he said with a smile, “It’s excellent,” before adding that he would “probably not” brief the press on it.
“I hope not,” O’Connor said when asked if that could change before the end of Biden’s term in January.
The reporter asked, “Is there a reason you didn’t do a cognitive test on him?” to which O’Connor explained, “There’s no need. He’s here every day.”
O’Connor said there was no reason to speculate that the president was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He insisted: “No, he is healthy.”
Biden walks with O’Connor along the Colonnade at the White House in August 2023
He also denied that Parkinson’s specialist Kevin Cannard’s visits to the White House had anything to do with concerns that Biden might have the condition.
“He saw him three times, my letter was clear,” he said, referring to two weeks ago when he explained that Cannard only saw Biden for annual medical exams.
“Dr. Cannard was the neurologist who examined President Biden for each of his annual medical exams,” he wrote in the letter.
‘President Biden has never seen a neurologist, other than his annual physical.’
Cannard visited the White House clinic eight times between July 2023 and March 2024. On seven of those occasions, he met with Megan Nasworthy, who coordinates medical checkups for the presidential family.
O’Connor has never given an interview or press conference since Biden took office in January 2021, or even before that, and rarely makes statements
During his eighth visit, he spoke with O’Connor and Dr. John Atwood, a cardiologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Cannard also works.
“Prior to the pandemic and since its conclusion, he provided regular neurological consultations in the White House Medical Clinic to support the thousands of active duty members assigned to support White House operations,” O’Connor wrote.
“Many military personnel experience neurological problems related to their service, and Dr. Cannard regularly visits the WHMU as part of this general neurology practice.”
Speculation about Biden’s health has been mounting after he delivered a disastrous performance during his June 27 debate against Donald Trump while battling a bad cold.
Subsequent public events failed to allay concerns and on Sunday he dropped out of the race, but promised to stay until his term ended.
President Joe Biden revealed in a speech in the Oval Office why he decided to step down as the Democratic presidential candidate
Doctors who watched Biden’s address to the nation on Wednesday night pointed out that the speech was relatively short – just 11 minutes – and that the president read exclusively through an autocue,
This made it difficult to make a definitive assessment of his mental and physical well-being.
California cardiologist Ernst von Schwarz said Biden’s “dry mouth, fixed gaze and few… hand movements and gestures… could be signs of cognitive decline” caused by his age, or of “a neurodegenerative condition” such as dementia.
But it could also be due to the medication, the doctor told DailyMail.com.
