It was incorrectly assumed and insinuated that the president was being treated for Parkinson's: White House

Washington: It is being incorrectly assumed and insinuated that President Joe Biden was being treated for Parkinson's, the White House has said, with a top aide asserting that he is committed to serving a full second term if reelected.

“Yes,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a news conference here when asked if President Biden is committed to serving a full second term if reelected in the November 5 presidential election.

“The president has had a fulsome comprehensive physical. We have shown the results of those physicals this past three years. We showed it just four months ago. It is in line with what we have done similar to President Obama similar to George W Bush,” she said.

Age and mental fitness have recently become a major issue in the US presidential race.

While the issue has troubled President Biden, 81, and his Republican rival Donald Trump, 78, in the past, things reached a tipping point after Biden's disastrous debate performance last month.

While Biden is the oldest president in US history, Trump, if elected in November, would be the second oldest.

A day earlier, Dr Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician in a letter to Jean-Pierre clarified that Dr Kevin Cannard has been the Neurology Consultant at the White House Medical Unit since 2012. He was chosen for his breadth of experience and expertise across the speciality of Neurology. Before his Movement Disorders fellowship at Emory University, he had practised as a general neurologist for six years, he said.

“Many military personnel experience neurological issues related to their service, and Dr. Cannard regularly visits the WHMU as part of this General Neurology practice. We value the contributions he has made across the many patients he has treated in support of the White House and its personnel over these years,” the doctor said.

The clarification was issued after a new report said that Dr Cannard visited eight times in the last eight months and linked this with the President's health.

“It was being incorrectly assumed and insinuated that the president had seen Dr. Cannard more than three times,” Jean-Pierre said.

Dr O’Connor said that Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical. The results of this year's exam were detailed in his February 28 letter: "An extremely detailed neurologic exam was again 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, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy. This exam did again support a finding of peripheral neuropathy in both feet. No motor weakness was detected. He exhibits no tremor, either at rest or with activity. He demonstrates excellent fine motor dexterity,” the letter said.

“But a subtle difference in heat/cold sensation could be elicited as it was last year. This heat/cold sensation deficit was detected a couple of inches higher on his ankle/calf this year, which is not unexpected. There may; in fact, be a day-to-day subjective variation of these findings, as during last year's exam, this area of sensation deficit was actually found to be smaller than the year before," said the doctor.