Donald Trump told Dr. Oz on Thursday he must be a “boring” patient because he’s so healthy, in an appearance where the Republican presidential nominee released more detailed medical information.
“I have to be very boring for you,” Trump said on the “Dr. Oz Show.” “I view this, in a way, as going to see my doctor. It’s just a little bit public, that’s all.”
The celebrity doctor spent the first part of the show asking Trump a slew of medical questions about his health history and family medical history. Then the two went over the results of a physical exam Trump’s doctor conducted last week, which showed the candidate in overall good health, although he is overweight and takes a medication for high cholesterol.
As soon as Trump took a seat on the set, Oz asked him to agree that they wouldn’t discuss the health of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who took a few days off from campaigning this week to recover from a case of pneumonia.
“We want her to get well, so I think that’s fine,” Trump said.
Oz said he has invited Clinton to discuss her health on his show, but is still waiting to hear whether she will take him up on the offer. Last year Clinton released a four-page letter from her doctor concluding she’s healthy, but has faced calls since then to release more details.
Trump has mostly stayed away from discussing Clinton’s medical episode on Sunday, when Clinton became overheated during a Sept. 11 memorial service and left early after being assisted into a van. Instead, he has emphasized that he has the “stamina” to be president, telling Oz that candidates seeking the White House “have an obligation to be healthy.”
“I just don’t think you can do the work if you’re not healthy,” Trump said.
Oz raised concerns about Trump’s weight of 237 pounds, which combined with his 6-foot-3 height gives him a BMI of 29.5, just below the benchmark for being considered obese.
“Now in my mind I’m thinking your body surface area and your BMI is high,” Oz said. “It’s probably close to 30, which is sort of the barrier for most people. Do your doctors or your family ever give you a hard time about your weight?”
“Yeah, I think I could lose a little weight,” Trump replied. “I’ve always been a little bit this way. You know — I’ve sort of always been, I was probably a good swimmer. But I’ve always been this way. I think that if I had one thing I’d like to lose weight.”
But Trump admitted he doesn’t get much exercise, downplaying a suggestion by Oz that he plays a lot of golf. He argued that campaigning gives him exercise, saying he’s animated while speaking to crowds and arguing that some of the places he speaks are “really hot like a sauna.”
“When I’m speaking up there using a lot of motion, I guess in its own way it’s a really healthy act,” Trump said. “A lot of times these rooms are really hot like a sauna and I guess that’s a form of exercise.”
Trump also boasted about the advanced age of his parents at the time of their deaths and how he rarely gets colds and hasn’t been to the hospital since the age of 11, building his case that he’s physically fit to be president.
“The public’s known me for a long time and never seen me in the hospital,” Trump told Oz.
