The White House answers questions about Biden’s health

President Joe Biden’s dismal performance in the June 27 presidential debate has raised concerns about his age, health and ability to lead the U.S. government.

Administration officials have said his garbled and sometimes indecipherable responses in the debate with Republican Donald Trump were the result of a cold, jet lag and poor preparation at Camp David. But at 81, Biden has realized that his health is a crucial issue for many voters ahead of the November election. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, made his first comments since the debate after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre struggled to answer questions about the president’s health at a briefing Monday.

How often does the president go to the doctor?

Biden undergoes extensive annual medical exams, Jean-Pierre said. He also said most Americans don’t understand the extent of the medical care provided to the president, as many people are fortunate to see their doctors once or twice a year. In contrast, the president’s medical unit is “just a few steps from the residence” at the White House. “A couple of times a week” Biden does a “verbal check-in with his doctor while he’s working out,” Jean-Pierre said, and he said he had a check-up on Monday.

There has been confusion since the debate over whether Biden saw his doctor about his cold. The White House initially said no medical exam was conducted, but later said there was a “brief verbal review” and it was determined no exam was necessary.

Has the president consulted a neurologist?

“He has seen a neurologist three times,” Jean-Pierre said. “No more than that.”

The White House spokeswoman repeated the phrase “three times” 17 times during Monday’s press briefing. She emphasized that the three consultations with a neurologist were tied to the president’s annual physical exams. But Jean-Pierre declined to say where Biden had seen the neurologist, whether the consultations took place at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center or elsewhere. “I have nothing to say with respect to the location,” she said.

Have Biden’s medical tests found signs of Parkinson’s disease or other neurological diseases?

No, according to the report of the president’s most recent medical examination, issued in February. Jean-Pierre mentioned that document on Monday in response to questions from reporters.

The letter said that “an extremely detailed neurological exam was again reassuring” that there were no findings consistent with a stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The letter added that no tremors or “motor weaknesses” were detected. Written by Biden’s doctor, O’Connor, the letter added that Biden “demonstrates excellent fine motor skills.”

Why did a neurologist specializing in Parkinson’s disease visit the White House?

Visitor logs show that Dr. Kevin Cannard — a neurologist who has conducted research on Parkinson’s disease — visited the White House eight times between July 2023 and March.

Jean-Pierre declined to confirm the doctor’s name or say why he had come to the White House. He told reporters it was for security reasons, noting that the White House medical unit treats people other than the president. “There are thousands of military personnel who come to this White House,” Jean-Pierre said. “Many of them receive their medical care from the White House medical unit and so we need to be extra careful.”

Jean-Pierre encouraged the audience to “connect the dots.”

Hours later Monday, O’Connor released a letter with permission from Biden and Cannard and confirmed that Cannard had been the neurologist who examined the president in each of the three medical exams he has undergone since taking office.

But most of Cannard’s visits to the White House were as part of his role as a specialist with the White House Medical Unit, treating patients for a wide variety of neurological problems at the White House for 12 years, O’Connor said.

Cannard made similar visits during President Barack Obama’s administration, according to visitor logs, and during the Trump administration — which did not release visitor logs — according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Cannard did make a visit to see Biden’s personal physician in January at the White House Residence clinic, weeks before the president underwent his physical in February. O’Connor repeated that the exam found no signs of a neurological disorder.

“President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical,” O’Connor said in her letter.

Could Biden make his entire medical history available to the public?

At Monday’s press conference, Jean-Pierre was asked whether Biden might choose to release his full medical records. He said the president had “shared a comprehensive medical report that is quite detailed” and is in line with what was provided by former Presidents Obama and George W. Bush. In 2018, Sen. John McCain allowed reporters to review more than 1,100 pages of medical records when he was running for president at age 71, which would have made him the oldest president ever elected at the time.