Shouting erupted in the White House briefing room on Monday as press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly dodged and refused to answer questions about the president’s health and whether a visit by his Parkinson’s disease doctor to the White House was about the president.
Dr. Kevin Canard, a neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center who specializes in movement disorders, visited the White House eight times over an eight-month period, according to official visitor records.
But at her daily press conference on Monday, Ms. Jean-Pierre refused to discuss Dr. Canard or acknowledge his visit to the White House, even after the New York Times and other outlets reported on the recording. She cited unexplained “security reasons” and said the doctor needed “privacy protection,” even though the White House had already released the doctor’s name and publicized his visit.
Several reporters in the briefing room accused Jean-Pierre of concealing important information about the president’s health, and the White House has come under increasing criticism from Democratic lawmakers and media outlets for not being more forthcoming about Biden’s mental and physical condition.
“You’re not answering a very basic and direct question,” exclaimed CBS News White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe.
“I’m saying he saw a neurologist three times,” Jean-Pierre emphasized. “That’s what I’m telling you. So every time he had a checkup, he had to see a neurologist. That answers the question.”
“No, I’m not,” O’Keefe replied.
“No, yes, yes,” said Jean-Pierre, as they talked amongst themselves.
“Did Dr. Kevin Canard come to the White House because he was concerned about the President’s health?” O’Keefe asked.
“I also said that for security reasons, I cannot publish their names. I cannot publish their names,” a visibly upset Jean-Pierre said. “I cannot publish the names of specialists, from dermatologists to neurologists, in general.”
“We are outraged that information about him was shared with the press,” a visibly upset O’Keefe said.
“Every time, I come back and answer your questions,” Jean-Pierre said, to which O’Keefe replied, “If I get the answer wrong, I have to come back and correct it.”
A few minutes after the exchange, Jean-Pierre told reporters in the room that he was upset by the way he had been questioned.
“We try to give you as much information as we have at the time. That’s our job,” she said, calling the question “really, really unfair” to her. “I’m upset about what happened at the beginning of this briefing. This is unacceptable.”
Shortly after, she added that “personal attacks” are “not tolerated. I just want to be clear here.”
Relations between Jean-Pierre and reporters are often strained, but the atmosphere in the briefing room has become even more tense in recent days as the president fights for his political life after a politically disastrous June 27 debate.
