Trump’s “Patient” Letter: A Whistle‑Blowing Mix‑Up
On a chilly May morning in 2018, a headline went viral when Donald Trump was noted to have quoted a letter from his own former personal physician. The letter had been littered with swoon‑worthy praise of Trump’s health. It turned out that the doctor, Harold Bornstein, later admitted that Trump himself “dictated” the whole thing.
The Pitch‑Perfect Praise
- In December 2015, the Trump campaign released a letter to the public that claimed: “If elected, Mr. Trump will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
- The campaign used this as the campaign’s poster child for fitness and vitality.
- The original document was quickly quoted in mainstream media, boosting a narrative that Trump’s body was as fit as a champion boxer.
Bornstein Refuses to Take the Blame
When asked about the origin of the letter on CNN, Bornstein gave a confessional twist: “I didn’t write that letter. I just made it up as I went along.”
According to the doctor, the letter was drafted on the spot while Trump’s car was at the parking lot. “I was called in for a quick consult,” Bornstein told reporters, “and I almost improvised the whole thing because I didn’t have time.”
Back In the Spotlight With a Stubborn Record Raid
Later this year, Bornstein found himself once again in the eye of a political storm. NBC obtained information that a bodyguard, acting on behalf of the president, visited the doctor’s Park Avenue office and took Trump’s medical records.
He described the incident as: “They must have been there for 25–30 minutes. It created a lot of chaos. I felt raped, frightened, and sad.”
According to Bornstein, the doctor’s original medical charts, complete with lab reports and pseudonyms, were taken. The White House, however, dismissed the claim, labeling the event as just a “standard procedure.”
Why It All Matters
- The letter’s unsolicited nature and subsequent doctored claims fed into the narrative that Trump has a perfect body.
- The raid of medical records raised questions about the privacy and security of presidential health information.
- Both moments reveal how the line between political PR and personal medical confidentiality can blur hard and fast.
In the end, it’s a reminder: when a presidential campaign exudes confidence in a candidate’s health, it’s easy for the facts (or fakes) to get tangled in the mix—and then you’ve got a story that’s both absurd and a touch scary.
