Things got quite tense between Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre and CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe about a Parkinson’s disease expert’s visits to the White House.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had an explosive exchange with CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe as the Biden administration faces intense scrutiny over recent revelations of the repeated White House visits of a Parkinson’s disease expert, fueling more questions about President Biden’s mental health.
A series of reports, first reported by the New York Post, showed that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist from Walter Reed Military Medical Center who specializes in Parkinson’s disease, met several times with Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, over the past year.
During Monday’s press briefing, Jean-Pierre repeatedly would not confirm Cannard’s White House visits to reporters, citing security and privacy concerns despite the fact that Cannard’s name was listed in the public visitor logs.
After Jean-Pierre dodged questions from Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller about whether Cannard’s visits pertained to Biden’s health, saying, « I’m not going to share people’s [doctors’] names », O’Keefe lost his patience.
« It’s a very basic, direct question », O’Keefe shouted, grabbing her attention. « That’s what you should be able to answer by this point. »
« No, no, no, no, no », Jean-Pierre immediately pushed back. « Ed, please. A little respect here. Please. »
« So every year around the president’s physical examination, he sees a neurologist. That’s three times, right? So I am telling you that he has seen a neurologist three times while he has been in this presidency. That’s what I’m saying », Jean-Pierre continued. « I’m telling you that he has seen him three times. That is what I’m sharing with you, right? So every time he has a physical, he has had to see a neurologist. So that is answering that question. »
« No, it’s not », O’Keefe doubled down. « Has Dr. Kevin Cannard come to the White House specifically about the president’s condition? »
« Ed, I also said to you for security reasons, we cannot share names.
