What are we told about the health of Biden and Trump? They decide

IN 2008, when Sen. John Mccain was the oldest person to seek a first term in the White House, his campaign set out to reassure the public about his health. It let reporters examine 1,173 pages of handwrittennotes,labresultsand insurance documents, including details of the senator’s biopsies, his prostate exams and even the “very light tan freckling” on his buttocks. He was 71.

Today, President Joe Biden is 81 and his rival, Donald Trump, is 77, and many voters believe both men are too old for another term.

Theirdoctorsproclaimthemfitto serve, but neither has agreed to throw open his medical charts to proveit.bidenreleasedasix-page summary of medical test results in February, but his doctor has refused to be interviewed by reporters, breaking from past practice.trumphasrevealedlessthan Biden;hislastpublicnotefromhis doctor, in November, was three paragraphslong.neithermanhas sat for a comprehensive assessment of his mental fitness, a battery of tests often administered to people their age.

Thelong-standingtruthabout the US political system is that presidents and presidential candidates choose what to test, what to ignore, how much medical information to release to the public and, in the end, what voters will knowabouttheirhealthandwellbeing.

The New York Times sent five-page letters to the Trump campaign and the Whitehousewithdetailedquestionsabout the health of the candidates. The Trump campaign did not respond to the letter, which included questions on mental fitness, cardiac health and whether he has taken Ozempic to lose weight.

The White House directed questions about Biden’s health to his doctor’s summary of the president’sphysicalinfebruary,which concluded that Biden was fit for duty. The Times’ questions about mental fitness, however, were not addressed in the summary.

The president has a common retort for anyone who expresses concern about his age: “Watch me.” The White House contends that the details released by Dr. Kevin O’connor, Biden’s physician, are sufficient . Even by the standards of previous candidates — and in contrast to Biden —theinformationtrumphasprovided about his own health has been exceptionally opaque. In his letter in November, Dr. Bruce A. Aronwaldsaidtrump’s“cognitive exams were exceptional.” But he offered no backup for any of his claims. He did not say what kinds of tests the former president had beengiven.hedidnotprovidethe results of any bloodwork. He did not say what medicine Trump is taking. He did not explain what cognitive exams the former president took.when Trump was president, his weight, history of high cholesterol and lack of exercise put him at higher risk of developing cardiac disease.

NYT Their doctors proclaim them fit to serve, but neither has agreed to throw open medical charts to prove it.