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New Doctor’s Note Describes Donald Trump’s Health as ‘Excellent’ New Doctor’s Note Describes Donald Trump’s Health as ‘Excellent’
(about 3 hours later)
Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign released a new note from his doctor on Thursday declaring that he is in “excellent physical health,” citing a battery of tests that were administered at various points over the last three years in addition to a physical examination taken last week. Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign released a new note from his doctor on Thursday declaring that he was in “excellent physical health,” citing various tests over the last three years but releasing nothing beyond cursory details.
Mr. Trump’s newest disclosure came as he has been criticized for declining to release in-depth records related to his health, taxes, his personal fortune, as well as his businesses. The note was accompanied by a boastful news release and distributed just hours before the airing of a taped episode of “The Dr. Oz Show,” where Mr. Trump spoke glowingly of his own health, but got little by way of questions or pushback from the daytime television celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Until now, Mr. Trump, 70 — who would be the oldest person in history elected to the presidency in the United States — had only released a short note from his doctor, Harold N. Bornstein, which was filled with superlatives but offered no window into his fitness to serve. The candidate also went on a television show hosted by the celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz on Wednesday to stoke interest in some of the results of his checkup. Mr. Trump’s newest letter came as he has been criticized for declining to release in-depth records related to his health, taxes and personal fortune, as well as his businesses.
The note from the campaign said that Mr. Trump was examined on Sept. 9 by Dr. Bornstein, who wrote that the candidate is examined annually every spring. Until now, Mr. Trump — who, at 70, would be the oldest person elected to the presidency — had released only a short note from his doctor, Harold N. Bornstein, that was filled with superlatives but offered no window into his fitness to serve.
While several reports have put Mr. Trump’s height at 6 feet 2 inches, the doctor’s note puts it at 6-3 and his weight at 236 pounds. It says that Mr. Trump was hospitalized only once as a child, at age 11, and that his blood pressure is 116/70 with a blood sugar level of 99. He has a calcium score of 98 as of 2013, which was also the year of his last colonoscopy, the doctor wrote. The note put his cholesterol level in normal range, with HDL cholesterol at 63, LDL at 94 and triglycerides at 61. The slightly longer note that the campaign released Thursday said that Mr. Trump was examined on Sept. 9 by Dr. Bornstein, who wrote that the candidate was examined annually every spring.
His last transthoracic echocardiogram was in December 2014. He had a normal EKG and chest X-ray on April 14 of this year. He takes a low dose of aspirin and a statin, rosuvastatin, also known as Crestor, that lowers cholesterol. The doctor’s note put Mr. Trump’s height at 6 foot 3, and his weight at 236 pounds. It says that Mr. Trump was hospitalized only once as a child, at age 11, and that his blood pressure is 116/70 with a blood sugar level of 99, which is at the higher end of the normal range. He had a calcium score of 98 as of 2013. That was also the year of his last colonoscopy, the doctor wrote. The note put his cholesterol level within normal range, with HDL cholesterol at 63, LDL at 94 and triglycerides at 61.
His last transthoracic echocardiogram was in December 2014. He had a normal EKG and chest X-ray on April 14, although his campaign declined to answer follow-up questions as to the circumstances of the two tests. He takes a low dose of aspirin and a statin, rosuvastatin, also known as Crestor, which lowers cholesterol.
Dr. Louis Philipson, director of the Kovler Diabetes Center at the University of Chicago — who has not treated Mr. Trump — said that Mr. Trump’s blood sugar level of 99 is still in the normal range, but “quite close” to the range termed pre-diabetes. The campaign did not respond to questions as to the circumstances of the blood sugar test.
Dr. Bornstein declared Mr. Trump in “excellent physical health,” and noted that his parents, Mary and Fred, lived into their 80s and 90s. The doctor did not note that the elder Mr. Trump had Alzheimer’s disease.Dr. Bornstein declared Mr. Trump in “excellent physical health,” and noted that his parents, Mary and Fred, lived into their 80s and 90s. The doctor did not note that the elder Mr. Trump had Alzheimer’s disease.
The press release accompanying the doctor’s note made mention of the candidate “setting records for number of events, size of crowds, and breadth of travel on the campaign trail.” The news release accompanying the doctor’s note made mention of the candidate “setting records for number of events, size of crowds, and breadth of travel on the campaign trail.”
“We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure — uninterrupted — the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States,” the press release said, in an apparent veiled reference to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, who is returning to the campaign trail on Thursday after a three-day absence following a near-collapse on Sunday. “We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure — uninterrupted — the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States,” the news release said, in an apparent veiled reference to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, who is returning to the campaign trail on Thursday after a three-day absence after a near-collapse on Sunday.
Until the “Dr. Oz Show” appearance and the release of the letter, little was known about Mr. Trump’s health.Until the “Dr. Oz Show” appearance and the release of the letter, little was known about Mr. Trump’s health.
Mr. Trump has boasted of his strength and endurance on the campaign trail, but the only information available until this week was the short, unusual letter released last December by Dr. Bornstein, who declared that the candidate would be the healthiest person ever to serve in the White House. He did not explain why that would be, other than offering a few indicators of his vital signs. On the show, Mr. Trump boasted that he has better stamina than anyone else and insisted that he has not had a cold in years, only seasonal hay fever (Mr. Trump appeared under the weather and hoarse in March during the primaries, and aides said privately at the time that he was not feeling well.)
The Trump campaign declined to answer questions about whether Mr. Trump’s blood sugar was a fasting rate, as well as the circumstances around his chest X-ray and EKG in April. Dr. Oz declined to press the candidate at any length. The doctor, whose specialty is cancer and obesity, did not flinch or follow up when Mr. Trump said that he considered his overheated rallies to be “a form of exercise.”
Dr. Louis Philipson, director of the Kovler Diabetes Center at the University of Chicago — who has not treated Mr. Trump — said that the sugar rate of 99 is still in the normal range, but “quite close” to the range termed pre-diabetes. Dr. Oz asked why Mr. Trump had not released his glowing medical report publicly; Mr. Trump, who has questioned Mrs. Clinton’s health for months, said that he considered these issues “private” but then said that it was important to know that a president would be healthy.
In a series of talking points that the Clinton campaign sent to supporters, a section on the medical documents released by both campaigns stressed the lopsided nature of disclosures, and suggested that Mr. Trump may be trying to conceal something. Mr. Trump has bragged of his strength and endurance on the campaign trail, but the only information available until this week was the short, unusual letter released in December by Dr. Bornstein, who declared that the candidate would be the healthiest person ever to serve in the White House.
The Clinton campaign criticized Mr. Trump’s disclosures, noting in a set of talking points sent to supporters that Mrs. Clinton had released much more information about her medical condition, while suggesting that Mr. Trump might be trying to conceal something.
“Donald Trump owes the voters a serious report on his health,” one bullet point read. “But from his medical information to his taxes to his business dealings, Donald Trump continues to hide behind fake excuses. And it begs the question: What is he trying to hide?”“Donald Trump owes the voters a serious report on his health,” one bullet point read. “But from his medical information to his taxes to his business dealings, Donald Trump continues to hide behind fake excuses. And it begs the question: What is he trying to hide?”
There are no laws or rules governing how much candidates need to disclose about their health. At 70, Mr. Trump would be the oldest candidate ever elected to the White House if he wins in November. Mrs. Clinton, 68, would be close behind. Their ages, along with Mrs. Clinton’s concussion injury in 2012, have prompted calls for much more extensive medical disclosures from both. There are no laws or rules governing how much candidates need to disclose about their health. At 70, Mr. Trump would be the oldest candidate ever elected to the White House if he wins in November. Mrs. Clinton, 68, would be close behind. Their ages, along with Mrs. Clinton’s concussion in 2012, have prompted calls for much more extensive medical disclosures from both.
Last Sunday, Mrs. Clinton nearly collapsed near the World Trade Center memorial in Lower Manhattan as she attended observances of the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Several hours after videos were posted on television and online showing her struggling to get in her van while being assisted by aides, it was revealed that she learned two days earlier that she was told she had pneumonia. On Sunday, Mrs. Clinton struggled while walking at the World Trade Center memorial in Lower Manhattan as she attended observances of the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Several hours after videos were posted on television and online showing her struggling to get in her van while being assisted by aides, her campaign revealed that she learned two days earlier that she had pneumonia.
Mrs. Clinton has released more information about her health than Mr. Trump. Neither has provided actual medical records or made their doctors available to the news media, although Dr. Bornstein was interviewed by NBC recently. The doctor said that he wrote the note for Mr. Trump in about five minutes as a car idled outside his office, waiting for him. While Mrs. Clinton has released more information about her health than Mr. Trump, neither has provided actual medical records or made their doctors available to the news media, although Dr. Bornstein was interviewed by NBC recently. The doctor said that he wrote the earlier note for Mr. Trump in about five minutes as a car idled outside his office, waiting for him, and that he used some of the candidate’s own words and synthesized them into the note.