Biden’s doctor ‘met with Parkinson’s disease specialist at the White House’
By Tony Diver
Washington: US President Joe Biden’s doctor met a leading Parkinson’s disease specialist at the White House earlier this year, it has emerged, amid ongoing questions about the president’s health.
Dr Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, met Dr Kevin Cannard, a top neurologist, on January 17 and Cannard has visited the White House a further seven times in the past year.
Biden has refused to take a cognitive test amid speculation about the state of his health, following a television debate last week in which he appeared to freeze and forget his lines.
The White House has denied that Biden has a degenerative mental condition, and the president himself has said his debate performance was just “a bad night”.
Cannard, a “movement disorders specialist”, works at the Walter Reed Medical Centre, a military hospital in Maryland where Biden receives his check-ups.
The 81-year-old acknowledges that he does not talk as “smoothly” as he used to, but says he remains at the top of his game.Credit: AP
The visit was revealed by the New York Post, which reviewed the White House’s visitor logs.
They show that Cannard also met Megan Nasworthy, an official who liaises with the Walter Reed Medical Centre, in March.
Biden’s health has become a major threat to his re-election campaign after some Democrats called for him to step back from the 2024 election and make way for a younger nominee.
The 81-year-old acknowledges that he does not speak as “smoothly” as he used to, but says he remains at the top of his game in private meetings about government policy.
In an interview with ABC News on Friday, he said only the “Lord Almighty” could tell him to stand down from the campaign, stressing the importance of beating Donald Trump in November’s election.
Asked repeatedly by the network whether he would take a cognitive test to disprove his critics, Biden said he showed his mental abilities “every day” through his work and had not been asked by doctors to complete one.
“No one said I had to,” he said. “No one said … they said I’m good.”
His mental state has faced increased scrutiny in recent days, and Biden has further fuelled speculation by making further gaffes.
In a radio interview on Thursday, he said he was “proud” to be the “first black woman to serve with a black president”.
The Telegraph, London
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