The fallout of former President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis continued into its third day with new insight into his relationship with the longtime physician who treats him — and also happens to be a close family friend.
Critics claim the familial bond between Biden and Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who served as the 82-year-old’s primary doctor during his four years in the White House, likely put a strain on by-the-book pronouncements about presidential health, especially while Biden was facing renewed questions about his vitality and vigor.
O’Connor, a former U.S. Army surgeon affectionately nicknamed “Doc” by Biden, previously worked with James Biden, the embattled brother who received a last-minute pardon. The two reportedly partnered up on a venture capital deal to develop a rural hospital.
The since-bankrupt operation came apart following allegations of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
After more than two decades in the Army, O’Connor joined the White House Medical Unit as a physician serving former President George W. Bush. It was following Bush’s departure that he was kept on by the Obama administration and fell in line to keep Biden, then vice president, fit for duty.
“That didn’t work out and, so, I ended up doing the whole eight years with him,” O’Connor said in a 2023 interview about what was supposed to be just a six-month stint under Obama.
He retired from public life in 2017 but remained by Biden’s side, returning to the White House in 2021 as the top White House doctor after Biden was elected president.
In a sign of how close the two men grew behind the scenes, O’Connor privately consulted with Biden and his immediate family about treatment options for Beau, his son who died of brain cancer, according to the NY Post.
A growing chorus of critics is questioning the timing of O’Connor’s announcement that Biden is suffering from advanced prostate cancer, with some Republicans wondering why such a slow-growing malignancy wasn’t detected and publicized sooner.
“He’s part of the Biden family,” Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) told the Post last month. “He would do or say anything to cover up and protect that family, regardless of what it meant professionally for him.”
President Trump, meanwhile, has honed in on O’Connor’s closeness with the Biden clan, asking Monday how the doctor was able to declare Biden “fit for duty” in February 2024, just four months before his career-ending debate.
“If it’s the same doctor that said there’s nothing wrong there, and that’s being proven to be a very sad situation,” Trump said Monday. “I think someone is going to have to speak to his doctor.”
“It takes a long time to get to that situation … to get to a stage nine. I think that if you take a look, it’s the same doctor that said that Joe was cognitively fine. There was nothing wrong with him,” he added.
Watch:
President Trump rips into Biden’s doctors for concealing his cancer and his team for using the autopen:
“It takes a long time to get to that situation.. To get to a stage nine. I think that if you take a look, it’s the same doctor that said that Joe was cognitively fine.… pic.twitter.com/7KPwIoK4BQ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 19, 2025
