A doctor specialising in neurology and psychiatry said President Joe Biden may be showing signs of Parkinson’s disease but that does not indicate cognitive decline or a need to exit the presidential race.
Dr. Thomas Vosburgh made the comments in a letter to The New York Times published on July 10 in response to the newspaper’s editorial board calling on Biden to step aside.
Biden has insisted he will stay in the race and White House physician, Kevin O’Connor, noted in a letter on July 8 that during the president’s most recent physical in February, he showed no indication of Parkinson’s.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a meeting of the heads of state of the North Atlantic Council at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 10 in Washington, D.C. Biden is facing growing pressure amid concerns about whether he can win the presidential election.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Biden, 81, has faced ongoing pressure to end his reelection bid in the wake of his CNN debate performance on June 27, which highlighted concerns he is too old for a second term in office.
Multiple Democratic lawmakers have urged Biden to withdraw from the race so the party can nominate a new candidate to try to stop former President Donald Trump from reentering the White House.
Vosburgh wrote that he “strongly” disagreed with The New York Times‘ view that Biden should leave the race.
“There seems to be some evidence that the president may be experiencing the onset of Parkinson’s syndrome,” Vosburgh wrote. “As a physician I know that individuals with Parkinson’s may have slowed, halting or tremulous verbal expression and general movement without a trace of dementia. The way Mr. Biden appears in interviews, debates and speeches need not be an indication of his cognitive ability at all.”
Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email for comment.
The Mayo Clinic describes Parkinson’s disease as “a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves. Symptoms start slowly. The first symptom may be a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. Tremors are common, but the disorder also may cause stiffness or slowing of movement.”
Vosburgh, who is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, pointed to the president’s colleagues who “report that his mind remains sharp, that his questions are incisive and that his conclusions are closely reasoned, taking into account a complex range of factors” and urged the editorial board to “back off.”
His views are contrary to information provided by the White House physician about Biden’s last physical, but his letter shows that there can still be disagreement among members of the public and medical professionals about the president’s health.
Jacob Appel, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York, told Politico on Monday that presidents’ doctors may not be giving the public the whole picture.
“Presidents’ doctors have deceived the public going back to the early 19th century,” Appel said. “There are plenty of ways of saying [things] that are factually accurate that don’t convey the full sense of what’s going on.”
In his letter on Monday, O’Connor said that Dr. Kevin Cannard had been a neurology consultant at the White House since 2012 and had examined Biden during his three annual physicals since becoming president.
At Biden’s most recent physical in February, O’Connor wrote that the exam had not shown “any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy.”
O’Connor’s letter was released after the White House said on Monday that Biden had not seen a neurologist except during his three physicals.
That clarification came after reports that specialist in Parkinson’s disease had visited the White House eight times in eight months. Questions about the nature of Cannard’s visits were at the forefront of a heated White House news conference on Monday, when CBS News correspondent Ed O’Keefe sparred with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and demanded further details.
O’Connor’s letter explained that Cannard holds neurology clinics at the White House for active-duty members of the military.
“The president has seen a neurologist three times,” Jean-Pierre said on Monday.
She added that “no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorders such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis” and said that the president was not being treated for Parkinson’s.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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