Kamala Harris has baited her presidential opponent once again, this time taking aim at Donald Trump’s refusal to release his health records. The Democratic candidate took a swipe at Trump during a recent rally at Greenville, North Carolina, which came in the wake of Harris releasing her own medical records.
The detailed report of the vice president’s health was made by her physician Joshua Simmons, who wrote that Harris “possesses the physical and mental resilience to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.” Barring some allergies and her family’s history with colon cancer, the report deemed that Harris is “in excellent health,” citing her maintenance of a “healthy, active lifestyle,” her “very healthy diet”, and her drinking “only on occasion and in moderation.”
Supporters of Harris will already know of her well-balanced diet (and love of good food in general), and might also be aware that she’s a jogger, since she had just finished a run when she took that now-iconic phone call with Joe Biden after he won the election in 2020.
“Today I release my medical records as has, I believe every candidate for president of the United States,” Harris said during the rally, “except Donald Trump in this election cycle.”
Harris’ jab at Trump’s refusal to release his medical records is well-placed, not just because we know he has a penchant for fast food. The Republican candidate has not shared a detailed synopsis of his health in years, instead sharing vague letters written by his personal physician. In November, Trump’s doctor claimed in one of two letters that the former president was in “excellent health” without providing the kind of details Simmons did for Harris.
The closest we got to a substantial health report on Trump was in 2017, when a more detailed physician found that he had high cholesterol, was overweight, and had rosacea, a benign skin disease. I don’t think all that golfing provides enough cardio to fix those first two conditions, especially eight years and many McDonald’s orders later.
In response to Harris’ rally comments, the Trump campaign pointed to these vague letters as evidence that Trump has released his medical history, but a swathe of doctors don’t agree. Earlier this week, more than 230 doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals called on Trump to release his medical records, saying he should be transparent about his health “given his advancing age.”
That letter, organized by the group Doctors for Harris, gained 238 signatories, who raised concerns that, if elected, Trump will be the oldest president in history by the end of his term. Trump’s refusal to release medical records wasn’t the only target for Harris during her rally speech, with the vice president also taking aim at him backing out of a 60 Minutes interview, and his spreading of false claims about the disaster response to Hurricane Helene.
If this is a presidential race, I think it’s clear who is the better runner, and it’s not the guy who struggles to bring a glass of water to his mouth or goes on bizarre tangents about sharks, batteries and Hannibal Lecter. In saying that, perhaps the only thing I agree with Trump about is the sheer joy of a well-earned Big Mac.
Published: Oct 15, 2024 05:44 am