Hey everyone, it's whacko doctor day on C&L! We served up Dr. Kelli Ward, who dissed Senator John McCain as too "old and weak" to serve in the Senate anymore, and now NBC News has tracked down Dr. Harold Bornstein, the doctor who signed the completely bizarre letter of health for Donald Trump.
John Amato wondered aloud earlier this week about whether Trump had actually written Bornstein's letter himself, and NBC News picked up the ball and ran with it. There really is a Dr. Harold Bornstein, and he says he absolutely did write the letter while Trump's limousine was waiting outside to pick it up.
On the phrasing of the letter, he had this to say:
In his letter, Bornstein said there were no "significant medical problems" in Trump's history and that a recent examination "showed only positive results."
"If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency," Bornstein wrote.
Asked how he could justify the hyperbole, Bornstein said, "I like that sentence to be quite honest with you."
He went on to say that the Oval Office has been occupied by presidents with dementia or tumors or even men who were "paranoid" or "psychotic."
Oh, well alrighty then. Apparently Dr. Bornstein jazzed up the language for his patient.
The doctor said he would not normally use such over-the-top language in a letter for a patient but he made an exception for Trump.
"I think I picked up his kind of language and then just interpreted it to my own," he said.
After this week, I'm starting to think we really need a mental health screening process for doctors in this country. And maybe some extensive ethics training, too.
Here's a tweet to summarize.
Update:
NBC News just posted this video on Twitter.
