Joe Biden’s has shown no symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, his doctor has explained in a letter released after reports claimed a specialist had visited the president several times in the past year.
Concerns around the president’s health have risen since Mr Biden’s poor showing in his debate with Donald Trump.
Democrats described his performance as an “unmitigated disaster”, “a meltdown”, and “a slow-motion car crash”.
According to The New York Times, White House visitor logs show that Dr Kevin Cannard, a neurologist who specialises in movement disorders and recently published a paper on Parkinson’s, visited the White House eight times from last summer through to the spring of this year.
Read analysis:
Strong performance by Biden won’t fully silence drumbeat of doubt
Risks of a misstep are huge at NATO summit
Make-or-break interview felt like a medical consultation
However, Mr Biden‘s personal doctor Kevin O’Connor released a letter that insisted “President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical”.
“The results of this year’s exam were detailed in my 28 February letter: ‘An extremely detailed neurological 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…'”
The letter added that Dr Cannard – in his role as Neurology Consultant to the White House – will have treated a number of different people at the famous building.
“He has held regular Neurology Clinics at the White House Medical Clinic in support of thousands of active-duty members assigned in support of White House operations,” Dr O’Connor wrote.
Earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted the president had seen a neurologist three times connected to his annual physical exams.
Read more:
Biden addresses speculation over his future
Trump claims Biden is quitting election
Biden says he ‘nearly fell asleep’ during TV debate
Meanwhile, US Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, used an interview with CNN on Monday to call on Mr Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
It comes after even some of Mr Biden’s closest political allies, including the former speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, have raised questions about his health.
And in a letter to Democrats in Congress on Monday, the US president said he was “firmly committed” to his re-election campaign and vowed to remain in the contest against Trump.
Also on Monday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he expected President Biden to remain in the race for the White House.
He told Sean Hannity in a telephone call broadcast on Fox News: “He’s got an ego, and he doesn’t want to quit. He doesn’t want to do that. It just looks to me like that’s what he wants.”