The White House on Saturday released medical records for Vice President Kamala Harris, describing her as having “the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”
Harris, 59, “in excellent health,” wrote her physician, Army Col. Joshua Simmons, who noted that she has a few minor health conditions like seasonal allergies and mild nearsightedness.
The vice president has a family history of colon cancer, from which her mother died in 2009. She has only ever had surgery once when she was three years old to remove her appendix, Simmons wrote.
Harris “maintains a healthy, active lifestyle,” Simmons wrote, “including vigorous daily aerobic exercise and core strength training.” She has a “very healthy diet,” does not use tobacco, and “drinks only occasionally and in moderation,” he wrote.
The release of Harris’ medical records stands in contrast to former President Donald Trump, who has historically been reluctant to do the same. Trump told CBS News in August he would “very gladly” make his medical records public.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said that the 78-year-old “has voluntarily released updates” from his personal physician, GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, and added that the reports “have concluded he is in perfect and excellent health.” Cheung pointed to three recent medical statements — one from November 2023 and two from July 2024 — that gave vague but favorable reviews of Trump’s health.
In 2015, when Trump was running for president against Hillary Clinton, he vowed to release his “full medical report” after his opponent published her own. Instead, he released a letter from his personal physician months later, who praised his “extraordinary” health and claimed he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
In June 2020, when running against now-President Joe Biden, the Trump administration released his annual physical, which was based on examinations between November 2019 and April 2020. It stated that there was “no interval change” to his medical history and that he “remains healthy.” Biden released his medical records in December 2019.
The most comprehensive assessment of Trump’s physical health came in 2018 when Jackson released a memo after the former president’s annual physical examination. It noted that Trump had borderline high cholesterol, had performed well on a cognitive screening and that he was taking several medications daily, including Aspirin for cardiac health.
