Trump doctor breaks out superlatives for candidate's health

[December 15, 2015]  By Ginger Gibson
 
 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump is in fine health, has never used alcohol or tobacco, and would undoubtedly be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency" if he wins in 2016, his doctor said in a letter released by the campaign on Monday.

"Mr. Trump has had a recent complete medical examination that showed only positive results," wrote Dr. Harold Bornstein, who has treated Trump since 1980. "Actually, his blood pressure, 110/65, and laboratory results were astonishingly excellent."

Earlier this month the 69-year-old real estate mogul had predicted his medical report would indicate "perfection" and Bornstein's assessment reflected that.

"If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency," the doctor's letter said.

The letter said Trump had lost 15 pounds in the past year, has never had cancer and has not had surgery since an appendectomy at age 10. He takes an aspirin daily and a low dose of a statin, a class of drug used to treat high cholesterol.

"He has no history of ever using alcohol or tobacco products," Bernstein wrote.

It is customary for candidates to release their health records or letters from their physicians signing off on their fitness to be president. Republicans Jeb Bush and Chris Christie and Democrat Hillary Clinton have released summaries of their records.

As Trump continued to rise in the polls, calls for him to release his records increased in recent weeks, with some critics saying he was withholding them to mask questions about his health.

The suggestion that Trump could be more fit than President Barack Obama, known as an avid basketball player, drew questions for White House press secretary Josh Earnest, who asked whether the doctor had examined Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

"I will not call into question the credentials of a physician who conducted a medical examination of Mr. Trump," Earnest said. "That must have been a pretty interesting appointment."

(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Bill Trott and Jonathan Oatis)

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