White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed on Monday by reporters demanding specific information on President Joe Biden’s medical records after a serious of reports showed a neurologist had visited him multiple times during his presidency.
White House reporters interrogated Jean-Pierre over the inclusion of a neurologist and Parkinson’s disease specialist in the White House log and asked whether this had any connection to the president’s health.
The press secretary stated that President Biden had consulted with a neurologist on three occasions, but declined to provide any further information, citing security concerns.
According to CBS News senior White House reporter Ed O’Keefe, the press secretary should have the ability to reply to inquiries on the president’s well-being. Jean-Pierre emphasized the need of respecting the confidentiality of the physicians and the numerous staff members who receive medical care at the White House.
“Ed, I also said to you for security reasons, we cannot share names. We cannot share names,” Jean-Pierre said.
“You cannot share names of others he would’ve met with, but you can share names in regards if someone came here in regards to the president,” O’Keefe shot back.
“We cannot share names of specialists broadly. From a dermatologist to a neurologist. We cannot share names,” she said.
“There are security reasons—Ed, I hear you.
“I cannot from here confirm any of that because we have to keep their privacy.
“I think they would appreciate that too.”
“It is public,” NBC News White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell said.
“It is public information,” O’Keefe added.
“I hear you, guys, guys, guys, hold on a second. There’s no reason to go back and forth and get this aggressive,” she said.
O’Keefe said he was “miffed” by the White House Press Secretary’s responses.
“You answer incorrectly and then you have to come back and clean it up,” O’Keefe said.
“I didn’t answer the question incorrectly,” the press secretary said.
“That is not true. I was asked about a medical exam.
“I was asked about a physical.
“That was in the line of question that I answered and I said no, he did not have a medical exam, and I stand by that.
“The president stands by that. He had a verbal check in, that’s something that the president has a couple times a week.
“A couple times a week.”
“Now in regards to Dr. Kevin Cannard…” O’Keefe began.
“And I am telling you, right now, that I am not sharing confirming names from here. It is for security reasons, Ed. It doesn’t matter how hard you push me, it doesn’t matter how angry you get with me, I am not going to confirm a name. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the log. I am not going to do that from here. That is not something I am going to do,” she said.
According to White House records, Cannard, a neurologist specializing in movement disorders, had a meeting with Biden’s physician Kevin O’Connor in the White House on January 17 and visited the resident clinic on March 28.
A Parkinson’s disease specialist visited the White House on eight occasions during a period of eight months from July 2023 to March 2024.
Jean-Pierre stated during the briefing that Biden is not undergoing treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
