LAS VEGAS — Joe Biden pushed Bernie Sanders to release the entirety of his medical history just hours before the evening’s Democratic primary debate.
“Transparency’s important across the board,” the former vice president told reporters during a protest organized by local labor unions Wednesday morning, referencing comments Sanders made the night before.
At a CNN town hall Tuesday night, Sanders,78, said, “I don’t think we will, no,” when asked if he would release more specifics on his health. In January, the Vermont senator provided a four-page summary of doctors’ notes three months after he suffered a heart attack. All three physicians in the letters provided by Sanders said he was healthy enough to be president.
In an interview with MSNBC Wednesday morning, 38-year-old former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg added pressure on Sanders, saying all candidates should “do better” when it comes to medical transparency.
“We’ve got to do better. I would look to the Obama standard of releasing not just a letter from a doctor but actual results from a physical,” he said. “That’s what we’re planning to do, and I think every candidate should hold themselves to that same standard.”
Following his hospitalization, Sanders said it would be unlikely that he would provide any more documents, which could include summaries of his vitals and any potential medical risks. Earlier in the campaign, however, Sanders promised he’d release “comprehensive” records of his health.
On Wednesday morning, Sanders spokeswoman Briahna Joy Gray erroneously accused former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 78, of suffering “heart attacks in the past.” Bloomberg’s campaign called Gray’s comments “completely false.”
In December, Biden, 77, released a brief report of his own, which included a letter from his physician saying the former vice president is a “healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old” who is fit to be president.
Should Sanders, Biden, or Bloomberg win the presidency in November, all three would be the oldest occupants of the White House in history.
