Get ready for a deep dive into a tense exchange at the White House press briefing! The spotlight is on Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who faced a barrage of questions from CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe about President Biden’s health, specifically regarding the repeated visits of Dr. Kevin Cannard, a Parkinson’s disease expert, to the White House. Let’s break down what went down and why it’s causing such a stir.
It all began with reports from the New York Post revealing that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist from Walter Reed Military Medical Center, had several meetings with Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, over the past year. This revelation raised eyebrows and led to pressing questions about the President’s health.
The White House press briefing today got extremely heated between CBS News correspondent Ed O’Keefe and Karine Jean-Pierre after KJP wouldn’t discuss why a Parkinson’s specialist repeatedly visited the White House.
“It doesn’t matter how angry you get with me…” pic.twitter.com/VovyOvWklu
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 8, 2024
During Monday’s press briefing, Jean-Pierre repeatedly dodged confirming Cannard’s visits, citing security and privacy concerns despite the public availability of visitor logs listing Cannard’s name. Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller first pressed Jean-Pierre, but it was O’Keefe who escalated the situation.
“It’s a very basic, direct question,” O’Keefe shouted, demanding an answer. Jean-Pierre responded with a plea for respect, emphasizing that while the President sees a neurologist annually as part of his physical examination, she couldn’t confirm specific details for security reasons.
O’Keefe persisted, pointing out that Cannard’s visits were public knowledge. “They’re on the visitors log. It’s public,” he noted. Jean-Pierre maintained her stance, refusing to confirm the details, which led to a back-and-forth that included NBC correspondent Kelly O’Donnell.
Jean-Pierre admonished the reporters, calling for a respectful dialogue and defending the administration’s transparency efforts. She insisted that security protocols prevented her from disclosing specific names, even those already public.
Later, the doctor broke protocol and gave this explanation:
NEW: In a detailed explanation, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, explains why Dr. Kevin Cannard visited the White House eight times between last summer and this Spring. Details Cannard’s impeccable credentials. And adds: “Dr. Cannard was the neurological specialist… pic.twitter.com/7Y2XyRyTqe
— Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) July 9, 2024
Jean-Pierre addressed the heated nature of the briefing, expressing offense at what she perceived as personal attacks.
Later in the briefing, Karine Jean-Pierre says she “takes offense to what Ed alluded to,” when she dodges on the Parkinson’s specialist, adding that it is “really unfair” that she is “holding information” from the White House press corps. pic.twitter.com/YACDBlIblM
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 8, 2024
