Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris took fresh steps to demonstrate a commitment to transparency, releasing a summary of her medical records from her White House physician, who explained that the Democratic nominee “possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief.”
A day later, this became a key point in Harris’ campaign pitch. “He refuses to release his medical records,” she said at a rally. “I’ve done it. Every other presidential candidate in the modern era has done it.”
Trump, of course, has not done it — despite saying he would — and neither he nor his campaign have explained the need for secrecy.
That said, three days after Harris made her disclosure, shortly before 1 a.m. eastern, the Republican decided it was time to explore the issue in more detail with a couple of items published to his social media platform. The Hill reported:
Former President Trump in a series of social media posts early Tuesday morning claimed Vice President Harris’s seasonal allergies were ‘deeply serious’ and asserted he was ‘far healthier’ than she and other former presidents, amid growing pressure on him to release a detailed medical report.
Taking stock of the GOP candidate’s odd pitch, Trump’s messages included a handful of core claims:
- He’s “already provided” his medical records.
- He thinks Harris’ seasonal allergies represent a “dangerous situation,” which will “impact her functioning.”
- He’s been more transparent about his medical history “than any other President in History.”
- He’s “far healthier” than Harris.
- And he’s “far too busy” for another medical exam.
Let’s take these one at a time.
First, if Trump genuinely believes that he’s “already provided” his medical records, he’s deeply confused.
Second, the idea that seasonal allergies represent a “dangerous situation” is insane.
Third, Trump has been less transparent about his medical history than any modern major party nominee. As regular readers might recall, it started before he took office. In late 2015, during the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Team Trump released an unintentionally hilarious, four-paragraph letter from the late Dr. Harold Bornstein, asserting that Trump’s “physical strength and stamina are extraordinary” and that his lab tests results were “astonishingly excellent.” The doctor added at the time, “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
We learned several months later that Bornstein wrote the letter in five minutes while a limo, dispatched by Trump, waited for the document.
In the years that followed, disclosures did not improve — even when the then-president was hospitalized with a Covid infection.
Last fall, Trump released the first updated report on his health in more than three years, but it came by way of a statement issued by one of his golf club customers and omitted basic details, such as his blood pressure and medications. More recently, the former president and his team also ignored calls for basic medical details after he was shot in the ear. Fourth, I suppose it’s theoretically possible that Trump is “far healthier” than Harris, but Harris appears to be in excellent shape, while The New York Times recently reported that the Republican, if re-elected, would become “the oldest person ever to serve as president” and “could enter the Oval Office with an array of potentially worrisome issues, medical experts say: cardiac risk factors, possible aftereffects from the July assassination attempt and the cognitive decline that naturally comes with age, among others.” Finally, Trump might want people to believe he’s “far too busy” for another medical exam, but if he has time to watch and whine about assorted Fox News segments, he has time for a physical. After Harris’ disclosure, the core question was simple: Why is Trump hiding his medical records? After the GOP candidate’s latest statements on the subject, the question remains unanswered. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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