Parkinson’s disease specialist met with President Biden’s physician in White House

A top neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center met with President Biden’s physician at the White House earlier this year, White House records show.

Dr. Kevin Cannard, a Parkinson’s disease expert, met with Dr. Kevin O’Connor and two others at the White House residence clinic on Jan. 17, records first reported by the New York Post show. 

The report comes as the 81-year-old president faces increased scrutiny over his age and mental acuity in the wake of a halting and stumbling debate performance on June 27 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. John E. Atwood, a cardiologist at Walter Reed, also attended the 5 p.m. meeting, according to White House visitor logs. The fourth person in attendance has not been identified. 

White House visitor logs show the specialist visited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at least 10 times since 2022, nearly always visiting the White House Medical Unit (WHMU). The unit is large and services thousands of military personnel. 

Reached for comment, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said: ‘A wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds.’

The Jan. 17 meeting happened on the same day Biden was at the White House and hosted House and Senate leaders to discuss Ukraine funding, the president’s schedule shows. 

O’Connor said Biden was ‘fit to serve’ as president after performing a physical examination in February. 

‘President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency,’ the physician said at the time. 

Biden’s physical included a neurological exam which specifically ruled out Parkinson’s disease, O’Connor said. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters following the debate that Biden has not had any recent medical exams. .

After Biden alluded to speaking with his physician following the debate, the press secretary clarified that it had been just a ‘verbal check-in’ about a recent, minor illness.

‘He did have a short verbal check-in in the recent days about his cold, it wasn’t a medical exam or a physical,’ Jean-Pierre said.