Sen.Bernie SanderstoldCNN on Tuesdayhe didn’t plan to release further medical records, arguing that what he had disclosed so far had been adequate and that anyone with concerns about his stamina — followinga heart attack last year— should witness him on the campaign trail.
The Vermont senator, 78,had previously said he would releasehis full medical records before primary voting began earlier this month, according to CNN.
“We have released quite as much documentation as any other candidate has. … I think we have released a detailed medical report, and I’m comfortable on what we have done,” Sanders told Anderson.
Asked about further medical disclosures, he said, “I don’t think we will, no.”
Sanders’ doctors wrote in letters last year that he was in “good health,”according toUSAToday.
Trump was the oldest president ever to take office, at 70. If elected, Sanders would be nearly a decade older — at 79. Many of his rivals in the race are barely any younger, as polling has shown voters have some concerns aboutcandidates’ agesand thespecter ofmedical problems.
Sandersbriefly left the trail in Octoberafter his heart attack.
The tradition of candidates disclosing medical informationstretches back decadesbut is imprecise: as much a political strategy as an act of transparency, given how information is disclosed and when and what records are even available. (AsThe New York Timesnotedin 2016, then-candidateHillary Clintonprobably would have faced a impossibility in tracking down her own pediatric records, for example.)
But some candidates have disclosed much more than others. In 2008, then-Sen.John McCainmade available a thousand-plus pages of documents,according to the Associated Press.
Askedon CNN Wednesday morningabout Sanders’ position on his medical history, a Sanders spokeswoman compared any controversy over it to “smear or skepticism campaigns” and said former New York City MayorMike Bloomberg, 78, had not received the same scrutiny as a fellow candidate.
The Bloomberg campaign fired back in a statement — a preview of their likely conflict at Wednesday night’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas, with Bloomberg rising in the polls.
source: people.com
