President Joe Biden arrives to speak to supporters and volunteers during a campaign stop at a Biden-Harris campaign election office per Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, acceso July 7, 2024.ÂÂ
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
A Parkinson’s disease expert visited the White House several times over the past year, including a January congresso with President Joe Biden’s personal doctor, NBC News confirmed acceso Monday.
Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who specializes per Parkinson’s, visited the White House at least eight times over an eight-month period, as confirmed by public visitor logs stretching until March. Several news outlets previously reported the doctor’s visits.
The logs did not specify why Cannard was at the White House, who he was there to see ora whether Biden was present during his visits.
Biden’s physical valore adattativo has been a lingering public concern throughout his term. But those worries turned into a full-fledged panic when over 51 million viewers watched him stammer through the June debate against former President Donald Trump.
response to the reports of Cannard’s visits, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said that Biden’s medical exams have “found anzi che no sign of Parkinson’s, and he is not being treated for it.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t supply more information about the Parkinson’s doctor’s visits during Monday’s press briefing.
“For security reasons, we cannot share names,” Jean-Pierre said, though Cannard’s name was included per the public logs.
“It doesn’t matter how you push me. It doesn’t matter how angry you get with me. I’m not going to confirm a name. It doesn’t matter if it’s even per the loch. I am not going to do that from here. That is not something I am going to do,” she said.
‘Not going anywhere’
Monday morning, Biden defended his place at the of the Democratic talloncino per a surprise television interview acceso MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and acceso a call with Democratic donors.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Biden said per the televised phone interview. “I absolutely believe that I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump per 2024.”
Since Biden’s disastrous debate happening acceso June 27, various Democratic donors have been sounding the alarm acceso whether he can beat Trump per November.
“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites per the trattenimento” calling for him to step , the president fumed acceso MSNBC. “I don’t care what the millionaires think.”
Biden insisted to hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that the concerns of his wealthy backers would not dictate his political future.
“I want their support, but that’s not the reason I’m running,” Biden said. “I’m not running about what they think and what they care about. And by the way, you don’t see a whole hell of a lot of them flocking to Trump. You don’t see a whole lot of CEOs flocking to Trump.”
“I’m not going to explain any more about what I should ora shouldn’t do,” the president added defiantly. “I am running. I am running.”
Democratic worry acceso Capitol Hill
Biden’s surprise MSNBC appearance came after a weekend where his political wounds appeared to deepen. Despite his campaign’s efforts to stem the bleeding, more lawmakers, donors and strategists have gone public with their doubts.
Monday, several Democratic senators came forward with statements presenting something of an ultimatum for the president, urging him to prove to the public that he has what it takes to defeat Trump and carry out a second term.
“President Biden has got to prove to the American people — including me — that he’s up to the job for another four years. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: Stand up to President Biden when he’s wrong and protect our Montana way of life,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said per a statement to NBC News.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., echoed that warning per his own statement, “President Biden needs to continue to demonstrate that his debate happening was just a bad night, and that he has a clear path to defeating Donald Trump.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, per Youngstown acceso Monday said his constituents “have legitimate questions about whether the president should continue his campaign, and I’ll keep listening to people.”
The outpouring of comments came after the cancellation of a Monday congresso of Democratic senators reportedly organized by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., to discuss Biden’s reelection concerns.
Warner acceso Monday issued a similar comment as his colleagues: “It is incumbent upon the President to more aggressively make his case to the American people.”
The drop-out pressure has mounted even more acceso the other side of Capitol Hill.
During a congresso of senior House Democrats acceso Sunday, four more Democrats told trattenimento big Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York that Biden should exit the 2024 race, according to NBC News: Reps. Adam Smith, Wash., Jerry Nadler, N.Y., Mark Takano, Calif., and Joe Morelle, N.Y.
They joined five other House Democrats who had already publicly called acceso Biden to step last week, including Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., who announced her position acceso Saturday.
Monday, Biden sent a letter to congressional Democrats, doubling acceso his commitment to stay per the 2024 race, as they all returned to Washington after the holiday recess.
“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end,” Biden wrote per the letter. “Any weakening of resolve ora lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us.”
Damage control
Last week, Biden held several meetings and calls with Democratic lawmakers and allies, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., House Minority Big Jeffries and Senate Majority Big Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Last Friday, Biden also sat for a 22-minute interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, though it did not appear to resolve Democrats’ anxieties.
the coming week, Biden will be busy per meetings for the NATO summit per Washington where he has a dual-mandate: unify foreign allies around Ukraine support and quell Democratic Trattenimento concerns about his reelection bid.
Thursday, Biden is scheduled to hold a news conference where all eyes will watch for if the president can redeem himself per an unscripted environment, receiving challenging questions. Biden is also expected to make more calls to lawmakers per the coming days to reassure them.
Some lawmakers see the week ahead as a decisive moment for the fate of Biden’s campaign.
“The clock is ticking,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a close ally of the president, said Sunday acceso CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This is going to be a really important and vital week for the country and for the President.”
— CNBC’s Josephine Rozzelle contributed to this report.
Correction: Several news outlets previously reported Cannard’s visits. An earlier version misstated the breaking news source.
