The Biden White House likes to pretend it sets the standard for transparency, but can we really believe they’re being honest about Joe Biden’s COVID-19 symptoms?
Okay, it’s a bit of a silly question because, frankly, the Biden White House has never given us a good reason to believe they’re honest about anything. But, sadly, Biden’s COVID diagnosis is the latest example of a narrative that has raised questions. For starters, White House Physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor has yet to address the press corps directly. On Friday, Dr. O’Connor released a memo on Biden’s condition, which seemed inadequate considering that when President Trump had COVID, his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, faced the press corp daily.
This fact was not lost on Newsmax reporter James Rosen, who lamented during Friday’s press briefing that “We haven’t heard directly from [Dr. O’Connor]… a piece of paper is not directly. We hear directly from Dr. Jha, that’s who we hear directly from,” he pointed out to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Also at issue was the question of whether Biden had a fever or not.
In his memo, O’Connor explained, “[Biden’s] symptoms have improved. He did mount a temperature yesterday evening to 99.4°F, which responded favorably to acetaminophen (Tylenol). His temperature has remained normal since then.”
In response to the memo, some reported that Biden’s temperature meant that he had had a fever — which the White House disputed during the press briefing when Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked a question regarding the treatment he’s been receiving. During that questioning, Heinrich appeared to catch the White House in an “inconsistency” regarding the treatment Joe Biden has received since he tested positive for COVID.
“But when we’ve got questions about, you know, his symptoms progressing. He had a fever last night. His cough is now loose as opposed to dry,” Heinrich said.
“So he didn’t he did not have a fever last night. Just to make that clear,” Jean-Pierre said. “I think Dr. Jha made that very clear night. 99.4 is not a fever. It’s not even a low-grade fever. So he did not have a fever last night. He treated it. He gave Tylenol. And I should actually let Dr. Jha speak to this more, because he is the medical doctor, which is why he’s joining me today at the briefing room. He gave the Tylenol for discomfort, which is not unusual if you have [a] cold, but many of you have had COVID. We would argue that if we probably take the temperature of some people here, they might have a 99.4 degree Fahrenheit temperature. That is not uncommon, but I would let Dr. Jha speak to that more.”
Dr. Ashish Jha, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, then rambled on, bragging about how transparent the White House has been on Biden’s condition before Heinrich pointed out the blatant inconsistency.
“So you’ve described, when his letter has described his 99.4-degree non-fever as being treated with Tylenol. And now we’re hearing from you that he was treated for discomfort. That’s an inconsistency!” she said.
Dr. Jha then explained how a low-grade fever is considered 100.4 degrees. While that may be true, according to the Cleveland Clinic, the average body temperate for someone Biden’s age is 96.4 F to 98.5 F — which means that at 99.4 degrees, Biden’s temperate would most certainly be considered elevated.
No matter how you slice it, the lack of transparency from the White House on Biden’s health is abundantly clear. For example, his physician isn’t addressing the press corp directly to answer questions, which raises several red flags. In addition, the quibbling over Biden’s body temperature, whether it constitutes a fever, and whether that is what he was being treated for adds to the speculation that the White House isn’t being completely honest about Biden’s symptoms.
