Tipsheet

Here's What the President's Physician Has to Say About Biden Testing Positive for COVID

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  July 18, 2024 3:45 PM

On Wednesday, just before he was to attend campaign events in Las Vegas, it was announced that President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID. Thursday afternoon, White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor put out a brief letter to offer an update.

"The President is still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms associated with his recent COVID-19 infection. He continues to receive Paxlovid," O'Connor states, before noting that Biden "does not have a fever and his vital signs remain normal."

"He will continue to conduct the business of the American people," O'Connor writes, though that might raise some eyebrows. Does anyone believe that to be the case? Long before Biden tested positive, there were concerns Biden was not really the one in charge. Those concerns only became more pronounced recently with the debate three weeks ago between Biden and former and potentially future President Donald Trump. 

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and other allies of the president have added fuel to those concerns about Biden not being the one in charge by pointing to how he supposedly has "a team" to help him.

The last line of O'Connor's letter may also be significant. "With the President's permission, I will continue to provide regular updates, as we have done before." Is O'Connor trying to portray this White House as being transparent? Because we've actually heard that claim before as well. 

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Jean-Pierre has been among those talking about transparency, despite the confusion and mixed messages about whether Biden was seen by a doctor for the cold we've been told he experienced during that disastrous debate. Jean-Pierre has also been quite testy with the press when it comes to questions about the president's health and meetings with medical experts, such as those on Parkinson's disease. O'Connor also eventually confirmed that Biden met with such a doctor. 

Further, there has been scrutiny from Congress about O'Connor, particularly his business connections to the Biden family. Last Sunday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) raised such concerns in a letter to O'Connor, asking him to testify before the Committee. 

"The Oversight Committee is concerned your medical assessments have been influenced by your private business endeavors with the Biden family," Comer wrote.