White House Combats Parkinson’s Rumors

PResident Biden’s halting debate performance on June 27 sparked speculation that he may be suffering from symptoms of a degenerative neurological disorder like Parkinson’s. But the White House denies that Biden is being treated for Parkinson’s, or that he has been examined by a neurologist beyond his last routine physical.

Part of that speculation centered on White House visitor logs that show a neurologist from Walter Reed Medical Center visiting the President’s personal medical unit at the White House several times in late 2023 and early 2024.

Kevin Cannard, an expert in treating movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, met with President Biden’s personal physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, at the White House on January 17 at 5 p.m., according to visitor records. The meeting also included Dr. John E. Atwood, a cardiologist at Walter Reed, according to records. White House records show that Dr. Cannard also visited the residential clinic on March 28 and made six other visits in the preceding months. The log entries were first reported by The New York Post Office.

It is unclear whether Dr. Cannard has visited the White House in recent weeks. White House visitor logs, which the administration voluntarily publishes on the White House website, show visitors through March. More recent logs have not yet been posted.

Cannard has been part of the broader medical team of White House physicians since 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.

When asked repeatedly about Cannard’s visits on Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to explain why he came to the White House. Citing privacy reasons, she said she would not confirm the name of any specific doctor who visited the White House complex to treat the President. She also highlighted that more than a thousand soldiers are treated by the White House medical unit.

Jean-Pierre said Biden “has been to the neurologist three times” since becoming president, and those visits occurred during Biden’s annual physicals.

“Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No,” said Jean-Pierre. “Is he taking medicine for Parkinson’s? No.”

White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said that like previous presidents, Biden was examined by a panel of doctors with different specialties during his routine annual physical exams.

Bates also said that no tests have revealed that Biden has symptoms of Parkinson’s. “We do not provide the dates on which the president is seen by the various specialists who participate in his physical examination, nor their names,” Bates said. “But there were no neurologist appointments other than the one for his physical exam.”