Recently, media outlets having been covering exhaustively the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's health after it appeared as though she fainted leaving a rally and was later diagnosed with pneumonia.
Mainstream media has incessantly talked about Hillary's health while smaller, conservative outlets (and even some ex-Bernie Sanders supporters) have been quick to speculate Hillary is gravely ill and "near death."
Of course, the health of the future president is important. But why are folks only scrutinizing Clinton's health — to the point of actively pushing conspiracy theories — yet not critically analyzing Trump's wellness?
In the first attempt at trying to convince the public he was healthy, Trump had his doctor Harold Bornstein write a note in 5 minutes while Trump's limo waited outside. The note eagerly proclaimed, "If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."
To those unconvinced by a hyperbolic, unsubstantiated, under-pressure 5-minute note, Trump took to Dr. Oz's television show — the doctor who has been repeatedly accused of pushing quack treatments for financial gain — to persuade doubters. On the show, Trump released a more detailed medical note.
This time, the medical note actually contained valuable, relevant medical information. It seemed to contradict Bornstein's enthusiastic diagnosis. Despite Dr. Oz claiming Trump looked not a day over 35 (really), the note revealed that 70-year-old Trump is overweight and nearly obese and that he takes a statin for his cholesterol, as well as an occasional lose dose of aspirin.
Overall, Trump's medical record and first medical note clearly do not align much. Nonetheless, from the additional medical information, it does not seem that Trump is in terrible health.
Perhaps Trump thought he had not convinced everyone of his health yet, however, because shortly after his Dr. Oz television appearance, Trump went on Jimmy Fallon's show and discussed his well being. It would seem like Trump's plan backfired, though, as he claimed to eat fast food because "you know what is in it."
Trump further "bolstered" his claims of good health by arguing that the only exercise he needed was moving his hands when he speaks.
If Trump still did not convince you of his "healthy" lifestyle, do not worry, he had one last, albeit ill-fated, attempt to convince skeptical voters. In a recently deleted report released by Trump, he suggested that farm and food production hygiene and food facility inspections should be abolished.
Unfortunately, some voters may have been convinced by this last-attempt measure by Trump. Most skeptical voters, however, recalled the recent Chipotle norovirus outbreak, which infected 300 people in 14 different states; or recollected the 2009 incident in which Peanut Corporation of America executives knew their peanut butter production plant was tainted with salmonella and still shipped their product anyway; or remembered the largest meat recall in U.S. history in 2002 when 27.4 million pounds of chicken had listeria.
Maybe Trump deleted this policy suggestion after discovering food-related illnesses tend to decline when government regulations pressure companies to raise safety standards.
Apparently, voters have to pick between two things: sensationalism of Hillary's health or lack of attention to Trump's disastrous health policies and health habits.
Writer's note: If Hillary really were to die in office, VP Tim Kaine would still be exceptionally more qualified and fit for president than Donald Trump, despite the potential lack of a transparent, democratic outcome.
