In this no-holds-barred election campaign, candidates’ health also comes into play.
Vice President Kamala Harris released her health report Saturday morning, which states that she is in “excellent health” and is in the physical and mental condition necessary to be president if elected in November. The report, perhaps even a little too in-depth, was released by her physician Dr. Joshua R. Simmons, who says he has been following her for the past three and a half years. The information comes from the last physical examination Harris underwent in April 2024. The point of releasing the report is to underline that former President Donald Trump has not issued any health information on his health during the campaign.
Dr. Simmons called the Democratic presidential candidate a “healthy 59-year-old woman with a history of seasonal allergies and hives.” He also noted that her allergy symptoms have previously been well managed by medications such as Allegra and eye drops, and she currently does not need anything except the occasional nasal Atrovent. According to the doctor, Harris “has been on allergy immunotherapy for the past three years” and her symptoms have improved “dramatically.” She has never had any serious crises.
According to the report, Harris also has a mild case of myopia and uses contact lenses.
Dr. Simmons also traced the medical history of the entire Harris family noting that her mother died from colon cancer 15 years ago. Therefore, the VP routinely undergoes colonoscopies and mammograms.
The doctor added that she is an active woman who does “intense daily aerobic exercise and has a very healthy diet,” does not smoke, and drinks only occasionally and in moderation. Simmons called the examination “normal,” noting that the scans were “normal” and that routine blood tests were also “normal.”
Instead, Trump, who is 78, told CBS News in August that he would “very gladly” release his medical records to the public, a month after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, but then did not follow up on his claims.
Trump, already widely criticized for not being transparent about his health when he was president, has not released a recent medical report and, according to The New York Times, his latest speeches are increasingly “long-winded,” “confused,” “vulgar,” “riddled with obvious lies” and “obsessed with the past” highlighting his mental decline. Then for months, rumors have been circulating that Trump suffers from fecal incontinence and that’s why he uses “diapers,” accusations made by some of his former aides, revived by former Congressman Adam Kinzinger and then again taken up by a vicious joke made by former President Barack Obama a few nights ago at the rally he held in Pittsburgh in support of Harris.
But for the former President’s loyal supporters, Trump’s age and obvious mental problems are not an obstacle to electing him to the White House, while on the other hand, they were Biden’s sword of Damocles.
After a rally Trump held Friday night in Aurora, Colorado, his former ally and former Republican governor of New Jersey Chris Christie sounded a new alarm about Trump’s mental competence, saying he has seen a “significant” mental decline in him.
Trump launched into violent anti-immigrant rhetoric at his rallies in Reno, Nevada, and Aurora, Colorado, claiming that illegal immigrants have taken over these cities, calling for the death penalty for migrants who kill American citizens, and saying he would enact the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
Mike Coffman, Aurora’s Republican mayor, dismissed the charges and insisted that neither the city nor the state “have been taken over, invaded or occupied by migrant gangs.”
