Mehmet Oz on Tuesday promised to ask Donald Trump “pointed questions” about his health when he sits down with him this week, but in the same interview Oz pledged that he will not ask Trump “questions he doesn’t want to have answered.”
Trump, a reality TV star in his own right, plans to take part in a taping of “The Dr. Oz Show” on Wednesday in which he’s expected to disclose more details of his personal health, including the results of a physical he received last week.
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The episode is due to air Thursday and will add to the fierce attention being paid to the health of both major-party candidates, especially in the wake of Hillary Clinton’s near swoon near a 9/11 memorial service on Sunday and the subsequent revelation that she had been diagnosed Friday with pneumonia.
Clinton’s team has pledged to release more medical records this week, and Trump has also promised to reveal more information beyond the bombastic letter from his gastroenterologist last year that proclaimed, “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
Oz said in an interview with Brian Kilmeade on the Fox News Radio program “Kilmeade & Friends” that he will reveal his medical assessment of the records submitted by Trump before the studio audience, calling it Trump’s decision to do so.
“It’s his personal records. I want to ask him pointed questions about his health,” Oz said.
Kilmeade asked what would happen if there are “embarrassing things” in the records. Oz responded, “Well, I bet you he won’t release them. … It’s his decision.”
“The metaphor for me is it’s the doctor’s office, the studio. So I’m not going to ask him questions he doesn’t want to have answered, and I also don’t want to talk about anybody else. We’re not going to be talking about Secretary Clinton, for sure,” Oz said. “And I don’t want to talk about things that are outside of the health purview. But I do not believe we can have a wealthy country without being a healthy country. And so I do think people want to understand, what happens to my health care if Mr. Trump is elected, and more importantly, what kind of role model is he for health in our country.”
Asked about the note from Trump’s doctor and whether he has ever written a diagnosis like that, Oz responded, “No, I haven’t written one like that. It’s a — it’s a little out of the ordinary. I’m gonna see if I can make some sense out of that, the letter.”
Oz, noting that he had extended invitations to both Trump and Clinton to discuss their health on his syndicated show, also remarked upon the Democratic nominee’s recent health scare.
Clinton’s near-collapse Sunday bore the hallmarks of heat stroke, Oz said, consistent with the campaign’s statement that she was “overheated.”
The health of both candidates, who would be the second-oldest (in the case of Clinton) or oldest (in the case of Trump) person to take their inaugural presidential oath of office, has lingered throughout the campaign and has only intensified in recent days with Clinton’s pneumonia episode.
Trump has also sparked questions about his health due to his well-documented love of fried foods and steaks, as well as his lack of sleep.
Although Trump’s appearance on Oz’s show appears to be a step forward in his transparency, Oz himself is not without controversy. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has criticized Oz for hawking “miracle” products and grilled him during a hearing in December 2014.
Oz, in the interview that aired Tuesday, took issue with comments last month from fellow doctor and media personality Drew Pinsky, who criticized Clinton’s quality of care.
“Generally speaking as a physician, and I’ve had Dr. Drew on my show and I admire the work that he does, but you don’t want to talk about the care that a patient’s getting from another physician without having the patient involved in the conversation,” Oz said.
If Trump puts “limitations” on what can be divulged on the show, Oz said, “I’ll acknowledge them.”
“But I must say, his campaign has been very professional about this. They haven’t asked me for anything,” Oz said, going on to say that he would talk to Trump’s doctor if offered the opportunity “because that’s a discussion if he’s comfortable with he’ll probably offer me.”
As far as what he wants to get out of the segment, Oz explained, “But I really want to understand, because he is a clever man, is does he understand what is going on with his health? What does he typically do? What’s a typical exam he goes through?”
“When he went through the exam last week, what actually was done to him to screen him, and does he feel that’s the right thing for his own personal health, is that what he wants to talk about with America?” Oz said, previewing the sit-down.
(Source :: Politico)
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