A neurologist who specializes in Parkinson’s disease and met with President Joe Biden‘s physician earlier this year, among other White House visits, doubles as a donor to the president’s reelection campaign, records show.
Dr. Kevin Cannard at Walter Reed Medical Center, whose White House visits were unearthed by the New York Post on Saturday and sparked further questions about Biden’s fitness for office after his lackluster debate performance, has cut regular checks to Biden’s campaign since February 2020, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The giving is small in terms of national politics, an average of $77 spread across 44 donations, totaling over $3,300 as recently as May 30, but news of the checks comes as Republican lawmakers demand answers from Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, about whether Biden “remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency” and express concerns over possible bias in medical assessments of Biden.
“Given that the Parkinson’s disease expert who met with Dr. O’Connor is a Biden donor, Americans should be rightly troubled by the potential clouding of the validity of both the President’s medical assessments and mental state,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) told the Washington Examiner. “These medical professionals should be open and forthright with the American people and not be attempting to score political points by concealing vital information about the health of our commander-in-chief.”
Cannard, who has worked at Walter Reed for almost two decades, supports the White House medical unit, according to his LinkedIn profile. Other than Biden, Cannard has donated to the former campaign for Michael Franken, a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran in 2022 against Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
In the telling of Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), who was a doctor for both former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, it is “highly likely” Cannard and O’Connor were discussing Biden during their Jan. 17, 2024 meeting. The meeting, the New York Post reported, also featured Dr. John E. Atwood, a cardiologist at Walter Reed.
“He should only be … treating the president and the first family,” Jackson said of O’Connor, noting his chief responsibility is Biden’s health.
Cannard’s largest single donation to Biden, $500, was in April, according to campaign finance disclosures. He also donated to the president’s campaign on Jan. 26 of this year — the same day White House visitor logs show Cannard met with Megan Nasworthy, who coordinates primary care for Biden.
Cannard did not reply to a request for comment. A White House spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that a “wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to answer a number of questions at a press briefing on Monday about Cannard’s visits.
“The American people deserve an objective assessment of whether Biden is fit to do the job,” Tom Jones, director of the conservative American Accountability Foundation watchdog group, told the Washington Examiner.
On Sunday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to O’Connor to request a transcribed interview. Comer is investigating O’Connor’s February assessment that Biden “is a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old-male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”
Moreover, Comer is concerned O’Connor’s assessments of Biden have been influenced by his past involvement with a since-bankrupt healthcare company linked to the Biden family.
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“According to the Washington Post, three of your ‘former colleagues in the White House medical unit … said [President] Biden’s debate performance suggested to them that the president should undergo cognitive screening,'” Comer wrote in the letter to O’Connor. “After his disastrous debate performance, calls grew stronger from medical professionals that President Biden should undergo a cognitive test but were reportedly overridden by your ‘continued insistence that [President] Biden does not need testing[.]’ The President himself is unwilling or unable to provide insight.”
Biden, despite facing increasing calls from Democrats not to run for reelection, has vowed to stay in the race. He wrote a letter to Democrats on Monday asserting he “wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024” and joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe to dare Democrats to challenge him at the Democratic National Convention in August.
