Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump released a summary Thursday of his latest physical examination and a letter from his doctor saying he is in “excellent physical health”. That paragraph letter was written in five minutes while a limo sent by Trump waited outside his Manhattan office, NBC News reported. Trump takes statin, a medication to lower his cholesterol, and a daily low dose of aspirin.
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The report was published Thursday morning to the campaign’s website, but a press release accompanying the report was briefly removed. Here was the 70-year-old Republican nominee, known to exercise little and indulge regularly in fast food, giving more information about his health to a celebrity doctor than the press that has always been requesting it. News organizations were left scrambling Wednesday afternoon to reach audience members about what Trump revealed, including his weight (which differed depending on the source).
Clinton released a signed letter from her physician that spelled out how the Democratic nominee was diagnosed with noncontagious bacterial pneumonia September 9 and treated with antibiotics. Both of those numbers are considered normal.
Perhaps taking a swipe at opponent Hillary Clinton’s recent bout with pneumonia, Trump also told Oz in the show that was taped Wednesday, “I think when you’re running for president, I think you have an obligation to be healthy”. One of the people that the CNN reporter spoke to from the Dr. Oz audience was Kelly Platt, who is interning to be a pharmacist.
“I think he knew what he was doing”, Sinasohn said.
Trump reportedly set a goal of losing 15 to 20 pounds in Wednesday’s interview. Some black leaders have also suggested that Trump’s outreach to minorities is mostly about proving to undecided white voters that he’s not racist.
The choice to reveal medical results on a TV talk show is an unusual one for a presidential candidate, but one that is certainly in line with the former reality TV star’s unconventional campaign. Trump’s physician says his height is 6 feet 3 inches, and that he weighs 236 pounds, which puts him at a BMI of 29.5, which is overweight according to the National Institutes of Health calculator.
A polarizing television figure, Oz defended Trump’s decision to come onto his show and dismissed the idea he was being used by the candidate.
Controversy over the health of both presidential candidates has increased in recent days, after Hillary Clinton fell ill at a 9/11 memorial service after being diagnosed with pneumonia – which she kept from the public.
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Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who joined him on the campaign trail Tuesday, was also with him for part of the “Dr. Oz Show” taping.
