Donald Trump is under increasing pressure to release his full medical records after Kamala Harris made hers public.
In a letter released on Saturday, Dr. Joshua Simmons, a U.S. Army colonel and physician to the vice president, wrote that Harris, 59, maintains a healthy, active lifestyle and that her most recent physical last April was “unremarkable.”
She “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,” he wrote in a two-page letter.
Simmons, who has been Harris’ primary care physician for the past three and a half years, added that the vice president has a history of allergies and urticaria, also known as hives, for which she has been on allergen immunotherapy for the past three years.
Her urticaria or hives were “sporadic and transient and do not seem to be triggered by any particular exposure nor are they associated with other symptoms” and respond well to antihistamine treatment, Simmons wrote.
Meanwhile, the report also disclosed that Harris abstains from tobacco, drinks alcohol in moderation, has a family history of maternal colon cancer, and stays up to date on preventive care, including regular colonoscopies and annual mammograms.
Harris’ campaign released the report in an effort to draw a contrast with her opponent Donald Trump, who has released only limited information about his health, a campaign aide told The Associated Press.
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Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the vice president’s campaign, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “VP Harris has released a report detailing her medical history and health information…. your turn, Donald Trump.”
Following the release of Harris’ medical records, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign stressed that medical reports voluntarily released by the former president have found that he is in “perfect and excellent health to be Commander in Chief.”
“President Trump has voluntarily released updates from his personal physician, as well as detailed reports from Dr. Ronny Jackson who treated him after the first assassination attempt. All have concluded he is in perfect and excellent health to be Commander in Chief. He has maintained an extremely busy and active campaign schedule unlike any other in political history, whereas Kamala Harris has been unable to keep up with the demands of campaigning and reveals on a daily basis she is wholly unqualified to be President of the United States. Her schedule is much lighter because, it is said, she does not have the stamina of President Trump. Polls are reflective of this,” Steven Cheung, Trump Campaign communications director, said in a press release.
Cheung sent a medical letter for Trump from November 2023, which stated that his “physical exams were well within the normal range and his cognitive exams were exceptional.”
He also sent two letters from Ronny L. Jackson MD in July regarding Trump’s health following the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Jackson wrote that “President Trump is doing extremely well… he is rapidly recovering from the gunshot wound to his right ear.”
Trump, 78, repeatedly claimed that his former opponent, President Joe Biden, 81, was unfit to run for a second term, calling him a “brain-dead zombie” and “sleepy Joe,” amid concerns over his age and cognitive ability. The 81-year-old ended his re-election campaign in July following a disastrous debate performance against Trump in which he slurred his words and appeared to lose his train of thought.
However, Trump himself has not been immune to speculation surrounding his cognitive ability.
In January, concerns were raised when he appeared to confuse Nikki Haley with former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In a poll of Virginians in August, 61 percent of voters aged 65 and older in the state said they think Trump’s physical and mental fitness are “very poor.” Overall, 50 percent of the 934 respondents said Trump’s physical and mental fitness were “very poor.”
More recently, former New Jersey governor and Trump ally Chris Christie told The New York Times that he has seen declines in the GOP nominee’s mental acuity and speaking ability.
“He wasn’t as good in 2020 as he was in 2016,” Christie said. “I saw decline in his skills in ’20 from ’16, and you see significant declines still. What masks it is that he is still physically pretty vibrant and energetic, unlike the president. But if you listen to him and his ability to make a point, it’s not nearly as good now as it was in 2016, not nearly.”
Trump has previously said that he has “aced” cognitive tests on more than one occasion and that he feels “sharper now than I did 20 years ago.”
