White House contradicts KJP’s claim that Biden has not been examined by a doctor since February

During Wednesday’s White House press conference, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that President Joe Biden has not received a medical exam since his annual checkup in February, also stating that Biden was "not checked out" by a doctor for the cold. On Wednesday evening, however, Biden told a group of Democrat governors that he received a checkup after the CNN presidential debate. A White House spokesperson said that Biden had a brief checkup for his cold.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent MJ Lee asked Jean-Pierre, "Just wanted to clarify one thing, I know you got a lot of questions about this issue yesterday: has the president had any medical exams since his last annual physical in February?"

The press secretary responded, "We were able to talk to his doctor about that, and that is a no."

On Wednesday evening, Biden told a group of over 20 Democrat governors in a private meeting at the White House, after being asked about his physical condition, that he had a checkup in recent days and is in good health, two people familiar with the meeting told Politico.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told CNN that the checkup with his doctor was in reference to the cold that Biden had. "Several days later, the president was seen to check on his cold and was recovering well," he said. A White House official added that Biden’s meeting with the doctor after the debate was a "brief check," not a "physical."

In the same briefing, Jean-Pierre told reporters, "He did not get checked out by the doctor. It’s a cold, guys. It’s a cold. And I know that it affects everyone differently, we’ve all had colds. And so no, he was not checked by the doctor."

During Wednesday’s press conference, Jean-Pierre blamed Biden’s poor debate performance on his cold and having "jet lag." Biden's debate performance has caused alarm among Democrats, with some calling for Biden to end his reelection bid and let someone else take the wheel ahead of the 2024 election.