Donald Trump’s campaign manager on Tuesday downplayed questions about the GOP nominee’s full medical record by citing his right to privacy.
“He believes that it’s important for the public to know what his basic health condition is,” Kellyanne Conway said in an interview on MSNBC, noting Trump would reveal the results of a physical this week.
“I don’t know why we need such extensive medical reporting when we all have a right to privacy,” she added later.
It’s a little jarring to hear Conway make the case for less transparency just hours after her campaign attacked Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for not being sufficiently transparent about her health after she appeared to faint at a 9/11 memorial event in New York over the weekend. The former secretary of state was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday, but the campaign did not disclose the diagnosis until several hours following her health episode on Sunday.
In a separate interview on CNN just hours earlier, Conway criticized Clinton for dodging the press about her health. The comments Tuesday on MSNBC also appeared to contradict her boss, who proclaimed last month he had “no problem” with releasing his medical records if his opponent did the same.
Neither candidate has released their full medical records ― an extremely pertinent source of information given the rigorous demands of the presidency.
Trump, 70, released a short statement from a Dr. Harold Bornstein, who admitted he wrote the glowing note in just five minutes while a limo sent by Trump waited outside his office, calling the real estate mogul the “healthiest individual ever” to seek the office of president. The GOP nominee initially planned to release the results of the physical during an interview with Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is known for hawking discredited science and “miracle” weight loss products. But the campaign scrapped that plan on Thursday.
Clinton’s doctor released a more detailed letter on her health in July 2015, but it did not include as much medical information as prior presidential candidates, including Barack Obama, Mitt Romney or John McCain. Clinton, 68, also announced Monday she would be releasing additional medical information this week.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Hillary Clinton is 69. Additionally, Conway did not state that Trump would reveal the results of a physical during an interview with Dr. Oz, but simply “this week.”
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularlyincitespolitical violence and is a