His spokesman tried to stem the wave of speculation sparked by a New York Times article alleging that a Parkinson’s expert visited the White House eight times in eight months, between the summer of 2023 and last spring.
“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, he is not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No,” spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told a news conference.
The spokesperson did not specify the purpose of the expert’s visit, citing an obligation of “confidentiality.”
The official recalled that Joe Biden was examined three times by a neurologist as part of his annual exams, the last of which was made public in February, and that in this context he has been tested for various neurodegenerative diseases, with negative results, she said.
He asks for support for his candidacy
And as questions mount about the president’s health amid public episodes in which he has appeared at times absent and at others disoriented, Biden called on Democratic lawmakers to back his re-election campaign or challenge him at the party’s convention in August, ignoring calls for him to drop out of the presidential race.
“I am firmly determined to stay in the race,” he wrote defiantly in a letter to Democratic congressmen. “The issue of how to move forward” has already been addressed “and it is time for the controversy to end,” he said bluntly.
Biden, 81, acknowledged to lawmakers that he was aware of the “concerns,” especially since his disastrous performance in a televised debate against his predecessor and rival for the November elections, Donald Trump.
For 90 minutes, he appeared very confused, stumbling and rambling. The president blamed jet lag and a cold, but in recent days several Democratic congressmen have publicly asked him to throw in the towel.
Others support him, such as Steven Horsford, chairman of the influential House African-American Caucus, and some senators.
“Very frustrated with the elites”
Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the Democrat said he was “confident” that “the average voter out there still wants Joe Biden” for a second term.
The Democrat admitted to being “very frustrated with the elites… of the party.”
“Any of these guys who think I shouldn’t run, let them run against me (…) let them challenge me at the convention” next August, he added.
Biden is under scrutiny this week as he hosts a NATO summit in Washington amid fears that Trump could win the presidential election.
It will be an opportunity for the leaders of the allied countries to gauge the fitness of Biden, who will attend several meetings and give his first press conference since the debate debacle.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, a Biden appointee, says he has “not detected” any signs of concern on the matter among NATO members.
Time is short
With just four months to go until the election and just over a month until the party convention, time is running out.
There is little room to replace Biden as the nominee, and the president and his team appear determined to hold out in order to continue the presidential race.
There is no indication, however, that the president will agree to step down, and even if he did, the Democratic Party would risk internal rifts and a chaotic nominating convention in Chicago in August.
If a new candidate were to be appointed, he or she would have just over two months to campaign before the November 5 election.
Source: With information from AFP
