Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sparred with reporters during a seemingly tense press briefing Monday as they grilled her over reports of a Parkinson's disease expert's numerous visits to The White House in the past year.
Jean-Pierre grew visibly flustered while continuing to field questions on President Joe Biden's health and his mental fitness to serve a second term, following last month's debate fiasco now coupled with reports neurologist Dr. Kevin Cannard visited The White House eight times in eight months.
Citing visitor logs, The New York Times reported Cannard, an expert in Parkinson's, paid monthly visits from July 2023 to March 2024, noting records of more recent visits, if any, would not be available till later this year.
Jean-Pierre confirmed Biden has met with a neurologist three times over the past three years as part of his annual physical exams, however she would not verify the physician's name or details of the visits, citing security reasons.
Her answers – or lack thereof – did not sit well with CBS News correspondent Ed O'Keefe, and he grew ostensibly agitated. His reaction prompted Jean-Pierre to verbally reprimand his "aggressive way" and demand from him "a little respect."
"We're getting miffed around here about how information is shared with the press corps," O'Keefe shot back, accusing Jean-Pierre of having to "come back and clean up" her answers during press briefings.
"It doesn't matter how hard you push me. It doesn't matter how angry you get with me," she scolded O'Keefe. "I'm not going to confirm a name. It doesn't matter if it's even in the log. I am not going to do that from here."
"To give you some answers here – has the President been treated for Parkinson's: no. Is he being treated for Parkinson's: no, he's not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson's: no," affirmed Jean-Pierre.
"I will say, when the President gets knocked down, he gets back up. This is quintessential Joe Biden, and there are a long list of other congressional members who have shown their support for this President."
Several Democratic politicians have called on Biden to quit his reelection campaign following his catastrophic debate performance in June, however in a letter to Democrats Monday, Biden vowed he remains "firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump."
