Recent White House visitor logs have revealed a meeting between President Joe Biden’s personal physician and a top neurologist in Washington, D.C. at the White House — the latest wrinkle in the ongoing concern over the 81-year-old president’s declining cognitive abilities.
The meeting included Dr. Kevin Cannard, a Parkinson’s disease expert from Walter Reed Medical Center, and Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s personal doctor.
The logs show that Dr. John E. Atwood, a cardiologist from Walter Reed, was also present at the January meeting.
While the purpose of the meeting has not been officially disclosed, its timing and participants have led to speculation about Biden’s mental health and questions on what the White House isn’t disclosing to the public.
Cannard is a “neurology specialist supporting the White House Medical Unit” and is considered the foremost authority on early-onset Parkinson’s disease at Walter Reed.
Before the January meeting with Biden’s personal physician, Cannard had reportedly visited the White House eight other times since 2023.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-T.X., who previously served as the White House physician for Presidents Obama and Trump, said the meeting was very concerning.
“It’s highly likely they were talking about Biden,” Jackson told The New York Post. “He [O’Connor] should only be [regularly] treating the president and the first family.”
Dr. Rob Howard, a professor of old age psychiatry at University College London, offered his observations on President Biden’s public decline.
“I am not saying its Parkinson’s disease, I am just pointing out that there are features to him that are consistent with Parkinson’s disease.” Howard said, noting his “fluctuation in attentional function, his facial appearance, and his gait” as potential indicators.
Howard emphasized that he has not examined Biden and was not offering a formal diagnosis.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-K.S., also a physician, expressed concern that the White House may be covering up a Biden diagnosis.
“Many in the medical community have suspected for several years that the president might be suffering from Parkinson’s disease,” Marshall said.
“If the president of the United States is among them, the American people deserve to know before voting in November.”
O’Connor formally gave Biden a clean bill of health at his annual physical in February, which included a neurological exam that allegedly ruled out Parkinson’s disease.
The White House dismissed concerns about the O’Connor’s meeting with a Parkinson’s expert, stating, “A wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds.”
The White House declined to provide specific details about who O’Connor, Cannard, and Atwood were meeting in January.
The discussion about presidential health is not unprecedented. However, the current political climate and Biden’s advanced age and rapid cognitive decline in public have intensified concern for his health.
As the 2024 election approaches, Biden’s mental health is consistently polled as a serious concern for voters.
And it could be worse than anyone knows.