White House releases medical report on VP Kamala Harris

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The White House on Saturday released a report from Vice President Kamala Harris' doctor declaring her to be in "excellent health." 

The report, which was previewed by a senior Harris campaign aide, comes as the 59-year-old Democratic nominee seeks to contrast herself with former President Trump, 79, who has not made recent health disclosures. 

"Vice President Harris remains in excellent health," wrote her Army physician, Dr. Joshua R. Simmons. "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." 

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event on Thursday, Oct. 10, on the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Chandler, Ariz.  (AP/Ross D. Franklin)

Advisers to Harris encouraged her office to release her medical history and health information to put a spotlight on Trump's health and mental acuity, since the 78-year-old Republican nominee would be the oldest president at the end of his potential second term, according to a senior aide.

President Biden, 81, withdrew from the 2024 presidential election in July amid pressure from the Democratic Party given concerns over his advanced age and visible fatigue. Since then, Democrats have sought to go on offense against Trump with what was once their election vulnerability. 

During an August interview with CBS News, Trump insisted that he would "gladly" release his medical records, noting at the time that he had a "perfect score" on a recent medical exam. He has not yet done so. 

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The letter from Dr. Simmons calls Harris' most recent medical exam in April 2024 "unremarkable." The vice president has no major health issues and "maintains a healthy, active lifestyle despite her busy schedule," including daily exercise. Harris eats a "very healthy diet," does not smoke and drinks "only occasionally and in moderation," according to her doctor.

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Vice President Harri's doctor reports that she is in "excellent health."  (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

"Vice President Harris is a healthy 59-year-old female who has a medical history notable for seasonal allergies and urticaria," the letter states. Urticaria is a common skin condition that can cause itchy, red raised bumps or welts to appear on the skin. It can be triggered by certain foods, medications or stress. Harris takes Allegra to manage her allergies and urticaria, and for the past three years she has undergone allergen immunotherapy (ATI).

Other details from the report include that Harris is nearsighted and wears corrective contact lenses, that she has a family history of colon cancer (her mother died of colon cancer in 2009) and that she is "up to date on all preventative care recommendations, including colonoscopy and annual mammograms." 

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Former President Trump told CBS in Augutst that he would release his medical records. He has not yet done so.  (AP)

The decision to release Harris' medical information comes after a New York Times report asserted that Trump has not been transparent with his own health, even after a would-be assassin's bullet grazed his head at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania this past July.

Trump did not release his medical records in his first White House campaign in 2016, the report notes. Neither did the Trump White House release accurate updates on his condition after a 2020 COVID diagnosis, with reports detailing that the president was more sick than his doctors said in public, according to the report.

"In 2024, days before becoming the official Republican presidential nominee for the third time, he was grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet, yet his campaign did not hold a briefing on his condition, release hospital records or make the emergency physicians who treated him available for interview," the report said. It goes on to quote several medical experts who raise concerns that Trump could enter the Oval Office in a second term with several "potentially worrisome issues." 

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The last health update from Trump came in November 2023, when his personal doctor, Bruce Aronwald, said in a letter Trump's "overall health is excellent." 

"His physical exams were well within the normal range and his cognitive exams were exceptional," Aronwald wrote.

In response to a request for comment, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung pointed to the letter released by Aronwald and reports from former White House doctor Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, who treated Trump after the failed assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

"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," Cheung said. 

"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."