Joe Biden's doctor gives puzzling response when confronted about the president's mental acuity
Joe Biden's doctor gave a puzzling response when asked if he was the president's physician after being ambushed on the White House lawn.
Kevin O'Connor was walking along the driveway trying to get around anti-Israel protest blockades when reporters asked if he was the president's doctor.
'I don’t know. I don’t know,' O'Connor replied while briskly walking toward the White House.
The former US Army medic then said Biden's health and mental cognition were 'excellent' and he saw no need to give the president a cognitive test.
O'Connor, known to Biden and others around the White House simply as 'doc', has been a part of the president's life for more than a decade and was a central figure to the family when Biden's son Beau was dying of cancer.
Joe Biden's doctor Kevin O'Connor said Biden's health and mental cognition were 'excellent' and he saw no need to give the president a cognitive test
He answered in very few words on Thursday as he tried to figure out how to pass the heightened security during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit.
The elusive doctor has never given an interview or press conference since Biden took office in January 2021, or even before that, and rarely makes statements.
When confronted by the New York Post on Thursday and asked if he was Biden's doctor, he initially replied 'I don't know. I don't know' before confirming he was.
Smiling as he said 'It's excellent' when asked how Biden's health was, he then added that he would 'probably not' brief the press about it.
'I hope not,' O'Connor replied when asked if that could change before the end of Biden's term in January.
The reporter asked: 'Is there a reason you didn't perform a cognitive test on him?' to which O'Connor explained, 'We don't need to. He's here every day.'
O'Connor said there was no truth to speculation that the president was suffering from Parkinson's disease, insisting 'No, he's good'.
Biden walks along the Colonnade at the White House with O'Connor in August 2023
He also denied White House visits by Parkinson's specialist Kevin Cannard had anything to do with concerns Biden may have the condition.
'He's seen him three times, my letter was clear,' he said, referring to two weeks ago when he explained Cannard only saw Biden for yearly physical exams.
'Dr Cannard was the neurological specialist that examined President Biden for each of his annual physicals,' he wrote in the letter.
'President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical.'
Cannard came to the White House residence clinic eight times between July 2023 and March 2024, meeting with Megan Nasworthy, who coordinates health checkups for the presidential family seven of those times.
O'Connor has never given an interview or press conference since Biden took office in January 2021, or even before that, and rarely makes statements
His eighth visit was to speak with O'Connor and Dr John Atwood, a cardiologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Medical Center, where Cannard also works.
'Prior to the pandemic, and following its end, he has held regular neurology clinics at the White House Medical Clinic in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned in support of White House operations,' O'Connor wrote.
'Many military personnel experience neurological issues related to their service, and Dr. Cannard regularly visits the WHMU as part of this General Neurology practice.'
Speculation about Biden's health increased after his disastrous June 27 debate performance against Donald Trump while he battled a bad cold.
Subsequent public events did not allay concerns and on Sunday he dropped out of the race but vowed to stay in office until his term ended.
President Joe Biden, in an Oval Office address, revealed why he decided to step down as the Democratic nominee
Doctors who watched Biden 's address to the nation on Wednesday night pointed out that the speech was relatively short - just 11 minutes - and the president read exclusively from a teleprompter,
This made it difficult to make a definitive assessment of his mental and physical well-being.
Dr Ernst von Schwarz, a cardiologist in California, said Biden's 'dry mouth, fixed stare, very little... hand movements and gestures... could be signs of cognitive decline' caused by his age, or 'a neurodegenerative condition' such as dementia.
But they could also be due to medication, the doctor told DailyMail.com.
