Doctors join calls for Trump to release medical records as his speeches continue to go off the rails
Pressure is mounting on Republican nominee Donald Trump to release his medical records as doctors are now joining with Kamala Harris’s calls for him to disclose his records.
Trump, however, continues to question the cognitive ability of his Democratic rival.
On Sunday, an open letter to the former president, signed by more than 230 medical professionals, noted that he was “displaying alarming characteristics of declining acuity.”
It comes as Trump continues to criticize media coverage questioning whether he is cognitively impaired, while simultaneously calling for Harris to take tests on “cognitive stamina and agility.” “Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her,” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday at 1:12 a.m.
In their letter, the medical professionals – who included nurses, doctors and healthcare providers – said Trump was falling “concerningly short of any standard of fitness for office.” They noted that despite his previous claim that he would “very gladly” release his medical records in August, he had yet to do so.
“Donald Trump is nearly 80 years old. While many older adults are highly functional, age can also come with cognitive changes that affect our ability to function well in complex settings,” the letter stated.
“We are seeing that from Trump, as he uses his rallies and appearances to ramble, meander, and crudely lash out at his many perceived grievances. He also is notably refusing to give the public the ability to properly vet or scrutinize his capacities.”
Last week, Trump backed out of an interview with 60 Minutes and has refused to debate Harris for a second time, following his poor performance on September 10. The experts highlighted the former president’s wild and debunked claim that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating neighborhood pets.
“In the limited opportunities we can examine his behavior, he’s providing a deeply concerning snapshot. Given his advancing age – if elected again, he would be the oldest president in history by the end of his term – his refusal to disclose even basic health information is a disservice to the American people,” the letter stated.
“The stakes of this election are historically high. Vice President Harris and her campaign have provided the transparency that we should expect from our leaders and confirmed her wellbeing and fitness to serve. Voters deserve to know that Trump is up to the job. That’s why we are asking Donald Trump to release his medical records, just as Harris has done.”
The letter was reposted by the Harris campaign’s official account on X. The account also posted a clip where Trump says that his people are “going crazy” during an interview. The Harris campaign ended the clip before Trump could continue.
At a rally on Sunday, Trump doubled down on his own mental acuity telling supporters he was not cognitively impaired. “I’ll be the first to let you know,” he said.
“I’m up here ranting and raving – last night, 100,000 people, flawless ranting and raving. I’m ranting and raving, not a mistake, and then I’ll be at a little thing, and I’ll say something a little bit [wrong] they’ll say, he’s cognitively impaired.
“No… I will be someday. We all will be someday, but I’ll be the first to let you know.”
Mental capacity was also one of Trump’s favorite attack lines against his former political rival Joe Biden, before the president dropped out of the 2024 race.
At Sunday’s rally, moments after assuring supporters he was mentally sound, Trump referred to Biden as “obviously cognitively repaired,” rather than “cognitively impaired.”