WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s Terrible Performance on June 27 presidential debate has concerns expressed about his age, health and ability to lead the federal government.
Administration officials have attributed his muddled and sometimes incomprehensible answers during the debate with Republican Donald Trump to a cold, jet lag and poor preparation at Camp David. But at 81, Biden has discovered his health a key issue for many voters ahead of the November election. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre attempted to answer questions about the president’s health during Monday’s press conference.
Biden undergoes extensive annual physicals, Jean-Pierre said. She added that most Americans do not understand the extent of the medical care the president receives, since many people are lucky to see their doctor once or twice a year. In contrast, the president’s medical office is “just a few steps away from the White House residence.” “A couple of times a week,” Biden does a “verbal check-in with his doctor while he’s working out,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that he had a check-in on Monday.
There has been confusion over whether Biden saw his doctor for his cold after the June 27 presidential debate. The White House initially said there was no medical examination, but later said there was a “brief verbal check-in” and it was determined no examination was necessary.
“He’s been to a neurologist three times,” Jean-Pierre said. “Nothing more than that.”
The White House press secretary repeated the phrase “three times” 17 times during Monday’s briefing. She stressed that all three meetings with a neurologist were related to the president’s annual physicals. But Jean-Pierre declined to say where Biden saw the neurologist — whether the visits were at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center or elsewhere. “I have nothing to report on the location,” she said.
Not according to the most recent doctor’s note, issued in February after Biden’s last medical exam. Jean-Pierre cited that document in response to reporters’ questions on Monday.
The letter said that “an extremely detailed neurological examination was again reassuring,” as there were no findings consistent with stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or ascending lateral sclerosis. The letter added that no tremors or “motor weakness” were detected. Written by Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the letter added that Biden “demonstrates excellent fine motor skills.”
Visitor logs show that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who researches Parkinson’s disease, visited the White House eight times between July 2023 and last March.
Jean-Pierre declined to confirm the name of the doctor or say why he went to the White House. She told reporters it was for security reasons, noting that the White House Medical Unit treats more people than just the president. “We have thousands of military personnel coming to this White House,” Jean-Pierre said. “Many of them are under the care of the White House Medical Unit, and so we have to be super careful.”
Jean-Pierre encouraged the audience to ‘connect the dots’.
Cannard visits the White House about once a month to support the White House Medical Unit, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private medical matters. Cannard made similar trips during the Obama administration, according to visitor logs, and during the Trump administration, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Cannard visited Biden’s personal physician at the White House clinic once in January, several weeks before the president’s medical exam in February.
During Monday’s press conference, Jean-Pierre was asked whether Biden could choose to release his full medical records. She said the president had shared “an extensive medical report that is quite detailed” and in line with what was provided by former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Sen. John McCain allowed reporters to review more than 1,100 pages of his medical records in 2008 when he ran for president at age 71, which would have made him the oldest elected president at the time.