White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre got into a back-and-forth with reporters Monday over Joe Biden’s health and questions about why a neurologist who has researched Parkinson’s went to the White House eight times between July 2023 and this past March.
And for the former Barack Obama staffers at “Pod Save America,” that’s a problem — a big one.
“This is why the White House is in such a terrible spot,” said Tommy Vietor, a former Obama spokesman who also worked on the U.S. National Security Council.
“The White House briefing today was consumed — top to bottom — with questions about why a doctor who specializes in Parkinson’s research visited the White House eight times,” he said. “And there’s just no way for that to be a good thing for the White House. I mean, poor Karine Jean-Pierre was up there for 45 minutes trying to deflect questions, they said they wouldn’t comment on why the doctor was there, privacy issues or something, or security. It’s just not going to stop the questions.”
Fellow podcast host Jon Lovett added, “People are more worried about Joe Biden’s unfitness because of age than they are of Donald Trump’s lack of fitness due to his criminality and abuses. That is such a damning fact about where the electorate is.”
Biden’s terrible performance at the June 27 presidential debate against Donald Trump has raised concerns about his age, health and ability to lead the federal government.
Administration officials have blamed his confused and at times indecipherable answers at the debate with Trump on a head cold, jet lag and poor preparation at Camp David. But at 81, Biden has found his health to be a key issue for many voters going into November’s election. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, issued his first comment since the debate late Monday, after Jean-Pierre struggled to address questions about the president’s health at Monday’s news briefing.
Visitor logs show that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who has conducted research into Parkinson’s, went to the White House eight times between July 2023 and this past March.
Jean-Pierre declined to confirm the name of the doctor or say why he was going to the White House. She told reporters this was due to security reasons and noted that the White House medical unit treats more people than just the president. “There are thousands of military personnel who come on to this White House,” Jean-Pierre said. “Many of them get the care from the White House medical unit and so we need to be super careful.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stories by Matt Arco
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.