After a series of vacillations by Donald Trump on whether he would release his medical records, the Republican presidential nominee offered details on a recent health check-up.
In a reality TV-type reveal that is characteristic of Mr Trump's style, yesterday the businessman handed a one- page summary of a medical he underwent last week to Mehmet Oz during a taping of the physician's popular television programme, the Dr Oz Show, though it is unclear how much he revealed about his health.
Mr Trump’s appearance on the show comes after months of refusing to disclose more details about his health beyond a much-ridiculed letter from his personal doctor last December.
It the letter, the medic, Harold Bornstein, said his patient would be the “healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency”.
Dr Bornstein, a gastroenterologist and Mr Trump’s doctor of 35 years, revealed last month that he wrote the letter in five minutes while the candidate had a limousine wait outside his New York office.
Oprah’s expert
Mr Trump handed the summary of his medical to Dr Oz, a long-time Republican supporters who began his television career as a health expert on Oprah Winfrey’s show.
This came after the candidate’s campaign aides said the property developer would and subsequently said he would not discuss the results of the examination conducted last week.
For months, Mr Trump (70) has attempted to raise concerns about the wellbeing of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton (68). His campaign team and supporters have suggested that she is trying to hide ill-health, a claim vigorously denied by Team Clinton.
Mrs Clinton’s bout of pneumonia – diagnosed last Friday but only disclosed by her campaign on Sunday after she was filmed stumbling into her van – has turned the spotlight on the health of both candidates.
Mr Trump would be the oldest president ever to be elected to the White House after Ronald Reagan, if he wins the November 8th presidential election. Mrs Clinton, who turns 69 two weeks before the ballot, would be the second eldest.
One of Mr Trump's spokeswomen, Katrina Pierson, claimed last month that Mrs Clinton was suffering from a rare disorder caused by brain trauma.
Mrs Clinton’s supporters have responded in kind.
President Barack Obama's former campaign manager, David Plouffe, raised concerns about Mr Trump's weight, saying he would be "the heaviest candidate we've had since William Taft", who served from 1909- 1913 and weighed up to 154kg (24 stone) in the White House.
Meanwhile, Mrs Clinton’s doctor Lisa Bardack released new details about the candidate’s condition after examining her, saying that she had a “non-contagious” form of bacterial pneumonia, was “recovering well” and remained “healthy and fit to serve as president.”
‘National disgrace’
Even more stinging criticism of Mr Trump has emerged, this time from former secretary of state Colin Powell. The retired four-star general described the candidate as a "national disgrace" and "international pariah" in a personal email exchange with a former aide in June, leaked online by hackers.
Mr Powell, a self-described lifelong Republican, has confirmed the authenticity of the emails, which appeared on website DCLeaks.com.
Mr Powell condemned Mr Trump in another email sent to the same former aide last month for encouraging the “racist” so-called birther movement. This is the conspiracy theory campaign that questioned the legitimacy of Mr Obama’s presidency based on the false rumour that he was not born in the US.
