--- title: White House Combats Parkinson's Rumors description: A Parkinson's expert has visited the White House repeatedly, White House visitor logs show. But a spokesman says Biden hasn't exhibited symptoms. canonical: https://time.com/6996112/biden-parkinsons-visitor-logs-expert/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-08T18:53:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T16:51:14.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Combats Parkinson's Rumors og:description: A Parkinson's expert has visited the White House repeatedly, White House visitor logs show. But a spokesman says Biden hasn't exhibited symptoms. og:url: https://time.com/6996112/biden-parkinsons-visitor-logs-expert/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e3e84e212eedc15/698a587cdb29870b5c26bd19/GettyImages-2161043149.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Biden Arrives In Harrisburg For Campaign Event og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Combats Parkinson's Rumors twitter:description: A Parkinson's expert has visited the White House repeatedly, White House visitor logs show. But a spokesman says Biden hasn't exhibited symptoms. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e3e84e212eedc15/698a587cdb29870b5c26bd19/GettyImages-2161043149.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Says Biden Hasn’t Shown Symptoms of Parkinson’s Amid Questions Around Expert’s Visits > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=eebab266-92da-4678-bf4a-8096426712ef&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Twice a week | time.com/newsletters, September 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=eebab266-92da-4678-bf4a-8096426712ef&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=eebab266-92da-4678-bf4a-8096426712ef&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=eebab266-92da-4678-bf4a-8096426712ef&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Biden Tells Hill Democrats He ‘Declines’ to Step Aside [Watch (HLS stream): Biden Tells Hill Democrats He ‘Declines’ to Step Aside](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5fw45oWN.m3u8) (3:20)  _Published 2024-07-08. President Joe Biden, in a letter to congressional Democrats, stood firm against calls for him to drop his candidacy and called for an “end” to the intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his dismal public debate performance._  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Updated: Jan 19, 2026 4:51 PM UTCPublished: Jul 8, 2024 6:53 PM UTC President Joe Biden, in a letter to congressional Democrats, stood firm against calls for him to drop his candidacy and called for an “end” to the intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his dismal public debate performance.  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Updated: Jan 19, 2026 4:51 PM UTCPublished: Jul 8, 2024 6:53 PM UTC President Biden’s halting debate performance on June 27 has sparked speculation that he may be suffering from symptoms of a degenerative neurological disorder like Parkinson’s. But the White House denies that Biden is being treated for Parkinson’s, or that he has been examined by a neurologist beyond his last routine physical. Some of that speculation has centered on White House visitor logs that show a neurologist from Walter Reed Medical Center visiting the President’s personal medical unit at the White House multiple times at the end of 2023 and early 2024. Dr. Kevin Cannard, an expert on treating movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, met with President Biden’s personal physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor in the White House on Jan. 17 at 5 p.m., according to visitor logs. The meeting also included Dr. John E. Atwood, a Walter Reed cardiologist, according to the records. The White House logs show Dr. Cannard also visited the residence clinic on March 28, and made six other visits over the previous several months. The entries in the logs were first reported by [_the New York Post_](https://nypost.com/2024/07/06/us-news/president-bidens-physician-met-with-parkinsons-disease-specialist-in-white-house/). It is unclear if Cannard has visited the White House in recent weeks. The White House visitor logs, which the administration posts voluntarily on the White House website, show visitors through March. More recent logs have not yet been posted. Cannard has been a part of the broader White House medical team of doctors since 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile. When asked repeatedly about Cannard’s visits on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to explain why he came to the White House. Citing privacy reasons, she said she would not confirm the name of any specific doctors who visited the White House compound to treat the President. She also stressed that more than a thousand military service members are seen by the White House medical unit. Jean-Pierre said Biden “has seen a neurologist three times” since he became president, and those visits were during Biden’s annual physicals. “Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No,” said Jean-Pierre. “Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No.” White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said that, like previous Presidents, Biden was examined by a panel of doctors with different specialities during his routine annual physicals. Bates also said that no examination has found that Biden shows symptoms of Parkinson’s. “We do not provide the dates on which the President is seen by the range of specialists who participate in his physical, nor their names,” Bates said. “But there have been no neurologist visits besides the one for his physical.” The White House [published a memo](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Letter7.8.24.pdf) from O’Connor, the President’s physician, late Monday that reiterated the details shared by Jean-Pierre and Bates. It explained that regular visits by Cannard, the neurology consultant to the White House, have been related to his work with the White House Medical Clinic that treats military personnel. Biden, meanwhile, has not seen any neurological specialists outside of his annual health exam, the memo stated. The memo cited Biden’s latest exam, the results of which were [published on Feb. 28](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Health-Summary-2.28.pdf), which said the President’s neurological assessment at the time was “reassuring in that there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis.” _—Chad de Guzman contributed reporting._ ## Transcript I have probably heard had a little debate last week. Kant's Hare is my best performance. We love. But ever since then, there's been a lot of speculation. What's Joe gonna do? Is he gonna stay in the race? Is he gonna drop out? What's he gonna do? Well, here's my answer. I am running and gonna win again. By the way, if you wonder whether Trump has it altogether. Did you ever hear how he explained 4 July? When he was present? No, I'm serious. This is true. There's explanation how America won the Revolutionary War? I'm not making this up. He said in his fourth of July speech five years ago. He said, George Washington's Army won the Revolution by taking control of the airports from the British. To talk about me, miss Speaking, I keep seeing all those stories about I'm being too old. Let me say something. I was too old. I wasn't too old I wasn't too old to create over 15 million new jobs. To make sure 21 million Americans are insured under the Affordable Care Act. To be big farmer, the first f ever do that, lower the cost in $35 for C. Was there too old to relieve student definitely 5 million Americans in gross in C. To old to put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Trump is a convicted felon. Found guilty, 34 felonies. Up. Trying to hide Hush money payments to a porn star. Another jury found Trump sexually assaulted a woman in a public place, and has been fined $90,000,000 for defene her. $90 million. I've only been bank up about 20 times, but I don't know. This so called great businessman owes over $400,000,000 in fines after being convicted in New York State of business fraud, already convicted. But Trump's biggest lie of all he had nothing to do with the insurrection of January 6. We all saw with our own eyes. We saw he sent thousands to attack the Capitol. We saw police being attacked, capitol being ransacked. The mob hunting for Nancy Pelosi. Gallows set up to hang Mike Pence. Let me ask you something. After a Trump did on January 6, why would anyone ever let him be near the O val office again? Ultimately, the American Presidency is about character. The character of the president who holds the job. Yes. Because with the immunity he's talked the Supreme Court just talked about. It gets down to that. Gets down to that. It's about honesty. It's about the President's decency. Yeah. Integrity. Do they respect people? Or do they incite violence in hate? Can they honor the oath of the Constitution and hold their oath of office? Well, I don't think it's an exaggeration yes. Trump has failed on every one of these character tests. Everyone. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6996112/biden-parkinsons-visitor-logs-expert/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6996112/biden-parkinsons-visitor-logs-expert/"},"headline":"White House Says Biden Hasn’t Shown Symptoms of Parkinson’s Amid Questions Around Expert’s Visits","datePublished":"2024-07-08T18:53:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T16:51:14.000Z","description":"A Parkinson's expert has visited the White House repeatedly.","url":"https://time.com/6996112/biden-parkinsons-visitor-logs-expert/","keywords":["Joe Biden"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e3e84e212eedc15/698a587cdb29870b5c26bd19/GettyImages-2161043149.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Bennett","jobTitle":"Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e3e84e212eedc15/698a587cdb29870b5c26bd19/GettyImages-2161043149.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Biden Arrives In Harrisburg For Campaign Event","caption":"President Biden Arrives In Harrisburg For Campaign Event","creditText":"Michael M. Santiago—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/joe-biden/","name":"Joe Biden"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6996112/biden-parkinsons-visitor-logs-expert/","name":"White House Says Biden Hasn’t Shown Symptoms of Parkinson’s Amid Questions Around Expert’s Visits"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Biden Tells Hill Democrats He ‘Declines’ to Step Aside","description":"President Joe Biden, in a letter to congressional Democrats, stood firm against calls for him to drop his candidacy and called for an “end” to the intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his dismal public debate performance.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/5fw45oWN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-08T14:50:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5fw45oWN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6996112/biden-parkinsons-visitor-logs-expert/","duration":"PT3M20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6996112/biden-parkinsons-visitor-logs-expert/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```