More than 230 doctors, nurses and other health care professionals are calling on former President Trump to release his medical records after Vice President Kamala Harris did so.
In an open letter dated Oct. 13, first reported by CBS News, the health care providers raise concerns about Trump’s advanced age and argue that the 78-year-old Republican nominee should be transparent about his health and medical history.
‘On August 20, Donald Trump said he would ‘very gladly’ release his medical records. In the 55 days since, he has yet to do so,’ the letter states. ‘With no recent disclosure of health information from Donald Trump, we are left to extrapolate from public appearances. And on that front, Trump is falling concerningly short of any standard of fitness for office and displaying alarming characteristics of declining acuity.’
Most of the signatories support Harris for president. The letter asserts that Trump appears to ‘ramble, meander, and crudely lash out at his many perceived grievances’ during his campaign events and questions whether this behavior is the result of cognitive changes associated with old age.
‘The American people deserve to have confidence in their elected officials’ mental and physical capacity to do the jobs that they’ve elected them to do. Trump ought to be going above and beyond to provide transparency on his physical health and mental acuity, given his advancing age.’
The letter comes while Harris is goading Trump into releasing his health information after the White House put out a ‘Healthcare Statement’ on Saturday that declared her to be in ‘excellent health.’
The statement from Harris’ doctor also indicated she had her most recent annual physical exam in April of this year. Trump released his own health records while campaigning in 2016, and once he took over the White House he continued the trend. In August, with the 2024 election quickly approaching, Trump told CBS News that he would release updated medical records to the public. However, he has yet to do so, with roughly three weeks until Election Day.
‘He won’t put out his medical records,’ Harris said Monday morning during an interview with podcast host Roland Martin. She also slammed Trump for refusing to debate a second time and questioned why Trump’s ‘staff’ would not allow him to do an interview with CBS’ ’60 Minutes,’ particularly when it is tradition for both presidential candidates to do a sit down with the show.
‘It may be because they think he’s just not ready and unfit and unstable and should not have that level of transparency for the American people,’ Harris suggested.
The Trump campaign responded by pointing out several times the former president has voluntarily released updates about his health. They also noted that he shared records from a July screening conducted by Dr. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician turned GOP congressman, following the second assassination attempt on his life.
‘All have concluded [Trump] is in perfect and excellent health to be Commander in Chief,’ said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung. ‘He has maintained an extremely busy and active campaign schedule unlike any other in political history.’ Meanwhile, Cheung slammed Harris as being ‘unable to keep up with demands of campaigning,’ arguing that compared to Trump her schedule ‘is much lighter because, it is said, she does not have the stamina of President Trump.’
Trump himself reacted to Harris’ medical statement on social media, calling it ‘really bad.’
‘With all of the problems that she has, there is a real question as to whether or not she should be running for President!’ he wrote. ‘MY REPORT IS PERFECT – NO PROBLEMS!!!’Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
