OAN’s Brooke Mallory
12:50 PM – Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre revealed late on Tuesday that President Biden did in fact see Parkinson’s disease specialist Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist, at the White House on January 17th. This came just hours after she had told reporters otherwise at a routine briefing.
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The correction was made just one day after Jean-Pierre chastised a reporter after he called her out for falsely misrepresenting whether Biden, 81, had undergone a medical evaluation following his disastrous debate performance on June 27th, which sparked calls from Democrats for him to resign or step down as the 2024 nominee.
“Because the date was not mentioned in the question, I want to be clear that the Jan. 17 meeting between [presidential physician] Dr. [Kevin] O’Connor and Dr. Cannard was for the president’s physical,” Jean-Pierre said to AP News. The network’s reporter had asked Jean-Pierre about Cannard’s meeting with O’Connor.
“It was one of the three times the president has seen Dr. Cannard, each time for his physical. The findings from each exam have been released to the public,” Jean-Pierre continued.
On Tuesday, AP News reporter Seung Min Kim asked, “Can you say whether that one meeting [between Cannard and O’Connor] was related to care for the president himself?”
Jean-Pierre: “I can say that it was not.”
According to public visitor logs that were obtained by the press, Cannard visited the White House at least eight times, from July 2023 to March of this year, for what O’Connor claimed was treatment of military members. However, it’s important to note that his visits were to the residence clinic in the White House basement, not the more expansive medical facility in the nearby Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
After this discovery, some have asserted that his statement was suspiciously misleading.
Biden was examined during a “very detailed neurologic exam,” according to a physical report that O’Connor issued on February 28th. Cannard’s evaluation results were part of this report.
“[T]here were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy,” the report claimed.
As medical professionals and politicians openly speculate about Biden’s cognitive prognosis, Jean-Pierre’s most recent revelation pushed back the date of what the White House claims was his most recent neurological assessment.
The press secretary’s retreat occurred in spite of the outcry from the press corps over her initial refusal to provide an explanation for Cannard’s visits, as well as her categorization last week that Biden had not undergone “any kind of medical exam” following the debate.
During the first debate, Biden seemed perplexed and consistently made odd comments, such as when he declared that he “finally beat Medicare.”
Additionally, another White House spokesperson said that “several days” after the first debate, “the president was seen to check on his cold and was recovering well.”
During a heated conference on Monday, Jean-Pierre also chastised CBS journalist Ed O’Keefe for pressing on the statement: “it is listed that [Cannard] went to the residence clinic.”
“Hold on a second. There’s no reason to go back and forth with me in this aggressive way,” Jean-Pierre said in a condescending tone.
“Well, we’re a little miffed around here about how information has been shared with the press corps about him,” O’Keefe said in response.
“What are you missed [sic] about? What are you missed [sic] about?” Jean-Pierre said, maintaining that “every time I come back and I answer the question that you guys asked.”
“And you answer it incorrectly and then have to come back and clean it up a few days later,” O’Keefe responded.
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