After weeks of intense focus on President Biden’s health and age that ended with his withdrawal from the campaign on Sunday, the script has flipped: Former president Donald Trump is now the oldest presidential candidate in history — and one who has been less transparent about his medical condition than his former opponent.
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Trump, a 78-year-old with a history of heart disease and obesity, according to experts, has not shared any updated bloodwork results or other specific information during this campaign to help experts assess his ongoing medical risks.
Instead, he has released a vague, three-paragraph letter from his primary care physician, Bruce A. Aronwald, who wrote in November that the former president was in excellent physical and mental health, and who later said in a statement released by campaign officials to The Washington Post that “there is no need for President Trump to release another medical report in addition to the one he recently made public.”
Seven days after the attempted assassination against him on July 13, Trump released a letter from his former White House physician, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), who described treating a two-centimeter-wide wound to Trump’s right ear and said he had a CT scan of his head and other tests but did not release the results. Jackson said in the letter that Trump was initially treated by the medical staff at Butler Memorial Hospital in Butler, Pa., and that he saw the former president later that night at Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, N.J. Jackson, who is one of Trump’s most loyal supporters, did not respond to a request for comment. A hospital spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
Jackson has previously said that Trump aced a cognitive test when he was president, but those results also have not been released.
Now, instead of facing an 81-year-old candidate whose mental and physical health were questioned after a disastrous debate in June, Trump’s opponent is most likely to be Vice President Harris, a 59-year-old with no publicly disclosed health issues. Harris has not released a detailed medical report as vice president. The White House and her campaign did not immediately respond to questions from The Post about whether she would do so as a presidential candidate.
The age of presidential candidates has been a key issue for voters this year. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, conducted before last week’s Republican convention, found that 60 percent of Americans said Trump is too old for another term as president, including 82 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of independents and 29 percent of Republicans. Before Biden dropped out of the race, many Democrats bristled at what they argued was an unfair critical focus on his age compared to Trump.
A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter.
Trump, a 78-year-old with a history of heart disease and obesity, according to experts, has not shared any updated bloodwork results or other specific information during this campaign to help experts assess his ongoing medical risks.
Instead, he has released a vague, three-paragraph letter from his primary care physician, Bruce A. Aronwald, who wrote in November that the former president was in excellent physical and mental health, and who later said in a statement released by campaign officials to The Washington Post that “there is no need for President Trump to release another medical report in addition to the one he recently made public.”
Seven days after the attempted assassination against him on July 13, Trump released a letter from his former White House physician, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), who described treating a two-centimeter-wide wound to Trump’s right ear and said he had a CT scan of his head and other tests but did not release the results. Jackson said in the letter that Trump was initially treated by the medical staff at Butler Memorial Hospital in Butler, Pa., and that he saw the former president later that night at Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, N.J. Jackson, who is one of Trump’s most loyal supporters, did not respond to a request for comment. A hospital spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
Jackson has previously said that Trump aced a cognitive test when he was president, but those results also have not been released.
Now, instead of facing an 81-year-old candidate whose mental and physical health were questioned after a disastrous debate in June, Trump’s opponent is most likely to be Vice President Harris, a 59-year-old with no publicly disclosed health issues. Harris has not released a detailed medical report as vice president. The White House and her campaign did not immediately respond to questions from The Post about whether she would do so as a presidential candidate.
The age of presidential candidates has been a key issue for voters this year. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, conducted before last week’s Republican convention, found that 60 percent of Americans said Trump is too old for another term as president, including 82 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of independents and 29 percent of Republicans. Before Biden dropped out of the race, many Democrats bristled at what they argued was an unfair critical focus on his age compared to Trump.
A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
