Washington – Vice President Kamala Harris has increasingly questioned former President Donald Trump’s ability to meet the demands of another four years in the White House as she tries to contrast her age with Trump’s.
“I see his team at least saying he’s suffering from exhaustion,” Harris, who turns 60 on Sunday, told reporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday.
Harris cited a Politico report that said several Trump interviews in the works did not materialize because the 78-year-old Republican candidate was “exhausted.” A Trump campaign spokesperson told Politico that this was “unequivocally false.”
“Look, being president of the United States is probably one of the hardest jobs in the world. And so we really have to ask ourselves: If he’s exhausted on the campaign trail, is he qualified to do the job? And I think that’s true. an open question and we need an answer,” Harris said.
Harris said it’s a “legitimate question,” adding that “it should be a concern if he can’t handle the rigors of the campaign trail.”
Trump has yet to release his recent medical records, claiming on Friday: “You have them all.”
His campaign has said he is in “perfect and excellent health” to run for president. In November 2023, Trump shared a letter from his doctor of osteopathic medicine stating that he had been examined in September 2023 and that his “overall health was excellent.” The letter provided no details about his vital signs or medications.
“I’ve taken five exams in the last four years,” Trump told CBS News while campaigning in Michigan.
When asked if he had actually released all his medical records, Trump called for Harris to take a cognitive test.
“Obviously I’m in the middle of a very big and very controversial fight that we’re leading,” he said. “I took my health exams. I also took cognitive tests twice and I passed them, which means a perfect score. I want to see her take a cognitive test because she couldn’t, because she wasn’t.” born smart.”
Trump also said he’s “been 48 days now without rest,” adding, “I’m not even tired, I’m really excited.”
If Trump is elected in November, he would be the oldest person to ever assume the Oval Office.
Harris released a letter from her doctor last week, who said she is in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resilience” necessary to serve as president. Her doctor, Dr. Joshua Simmons, said Harris’ latest blood work and other test results were “unremarkable,” and that she has no personal history of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders or other serious conditions. He noted that she has a history of allergies and hives, also known as hives, for which she has been undergoing allergen immunotherapy for the past three years.
In a recent letterMore than 230 doctors, nurses and health care professionals, most of whom support Harris, called on Trump to release his health records, arguing that he was showing “alarming features of declining visual acuity.” In the absence of detailed data, the letter said, “we must extrapolate based on public appearances.”
Caitlin Huey-Burns and
contributed to this report.
