WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden is not being treated for Parkinson’s disease, the White House said on Monday, after reports surfaced that a doctor specializing in the malady had visited the White House eight times over the past year.
Concerns that the president might be suffering from an undisclosed illness have risen since Biden’s stumbled in his June 27 debate with Republican Donald Trump.
The New York Times said White House visitor logs show that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders and recently published a paper on Parkinson’s, visited the White House eight times from last summer through the spring of this year.
During an acrimonious briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to confirm Cannard’s visit, saying she wanted to respect the privacy of all involved for security reasons.
She said Biden had seen a neurologist three times connected to Biden’s annual physical exams.
She said Biden was not being treated for Parkinson’s.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)
