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As we wrote yesterday, Kamala Harris' decision to release her medical report wasn't really about reassuring the American public (since those reports are always somewhere between "positive" and "overwhelmingly positive"), it was about putting the ball in Donald Trump's court, and making HIS health an issue.
The plan has already worked like a charm. For example, a group of more than 200 medical professionals released a letter yesterday, in which they reminded Trump (and everyone else reading) that he promised back on August 20 to release his medical records, and has yet to do so. The letter observes:
Donald Trump is nearly 80 years old. While many older adults are highly functional, age can also come with cognitive changes that affect our ability to function well in complex settings. We are seeing that from Trump, as he uses his rallies and appearances to ramble, meander, and crudely lash out at his many perceived grievances. He also is notably refusing to give the public the ability to properly vet or scrutinize his capacities. Just last week, he backed out of an interview with 60 Minutes, and he is refusing to debate Vice President Harris again—both venues where the country might be able to more adequately assess his demeanor and fitness. As we saw in the first presidential debate, Trump is displaying irrationality and irritability. Notably, he ranted about migrants eating people's cats and dogs. This was widely debunked as untrue. In the limited opportunities we can examine his behavior, he's providing a deeply concerning snapshot. Given his advancing age—if elected again, he would be the oldest president in history by the end of his term—his refusal to disclose even basic health information is a disservice to the American people.
It is somewhat improbable that an effort involving 200+ people could be organized in less than 24 hours. Either the Harris announcement persuaded them to pull the trigger and release the letter while the iron was hot, or else Harris' campaign knew the letter was coming and coordinated with the authors.
Trump is also coming under fire from various folks in the media, particularly the late-night hosts. For example, Jimmy Kimmel, who is the anti-Trumpiest of all the late nighters (barely beating out Stephen Colbert), used his monologue last night to dare Trump to join Harris in taking a cognitive test: "The guy who's up in the middle of the night reading tweets about himself, wants to give someone else a cognitive test. Pretty sure we all watched her ace that test when she handed you your tangerine ass in the debate, but ... I'm all for it."
Trump could theoretically play this in at least a couple of ways. He could claim that he's already released plenty of information, and there's no need to release any more. Or, he could simply ignore the whole thing, and pretend the issue doesn't exist. He's had success with both of these approaches in the past, in terms of killing unpleasant things he'd rather not be talking about (taxes, Obamacare replacement, border wall funding, etc.).
Instead, Trump chose just about the worst response possible, conveyed via his boutique social media platform:
I believe it is very important that Kamala Harris pass a test on Cognitive Stamina and Agility. Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her. Even 60 Minutes and CBS, in order to protect Lyin' Kamala, illegally and unscrupulously replaced an answer she had given, which was totally "bonkers," with another answer that had nothing to do with the question asked. Also, she is slow and lethargic in answering even the easiest of questions. We just went through almost four years of that, we shouldn't have to do it again!
The man is 78 years old and still has not figured out what it means when you put a word—like, say, "bonkers"—in quotation marks. He's so "intelligent."
Tactically, we cannot see any reason that the Harris campaign should not respond thus, either via a statement, or during one of the candidate's media hits:
Vice President Harris would be delighted to take a cognitive test, under the following conditions: (1) the test is conducted by a psychiatrist recommended by the APA, or a neurologist recommended by the AMA; (2) former president Trump takes the same test with the same person serving to administer it; (3) former president Trump agrees that both sets of results will be made public. As to the choice of test, former president Trump can pick whatever test he likes. This will provide useful and valuable information for the American public, as they make their choice in November.
There is no way Trump would actually take the bait, since he would be at risk of producing a bad result, whereas Harris would not be. However, calling his bluff would make him look weak, which he hates, and would keep his health in the news for at least another cycle or two. (Z)