2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg prefaced his attack on Sen. Bernie Sanders’s health by noting that he and their fellow presidential candidates were all thrilled that the Vermont senator is in “fighting shape.”
During the party’s ninth primary debate on Wednesday night, Sanders was asked if he was being fully transparent about his health conditions after he suffered a heart attack earlier in the campaign. Buttigieg said he was “delighted” that Sanders is doing well but argued that his health should still be a concern.
“First of all, let me say we’re all delighted that you are in fighting shape,” Buttigieg said. “At the same time, transparency matters, especially living through the Trump era. Now under President Obama, the standard was that the president would release full medical records, do a physical, and release the readout. I think that’s the standard that we should hold ourselves to as well.”
Buttigieg argued that President Trump’s health should be questioned as well because he only had his personal doctor release a letter about his heath rather than a detailed physical. He also noted that he’s “less concerned” about Sanders’s personal health than he is about how the senator plans to pay for “Medicare for all.”
The Sanders campaign has been in hot water over incorrect allegations that Michael Bloomberg has also had a heart attack. The senator acknowledged the mistake during the debate and noted that both he and Bloomberg had stents placed to manage heart-related conditions.
