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Why Is Trump's 'Concierge Doctor' Concealing Basic Facts About His Health?

Why Is Trump's 'Concierge Doctor' Concealing Basic Facts About His Health?

The most recent report on Donald Trump's health is being questioned by an expert on aging who would like to provide the public with answers about the "projected life span and health" of President Joe Biden and the former president who is making a third run for the Oval Office.

In a deep dive into the background of Trump's new doctor, Dr. Bruce A. Aronwald, a 64-year-old osteopathic physician, the Washington Post is reporting the New Jersey physician is a longtime member of the former president's Bedminster, New Jersey golf club who specializes in wealthy clients serving as a "concierge" doctor.

As the report from the Post's Michael Kranish notes, a central focus of the 2024 presidential election is the health of the 81-year-old Biden and the 77-year-old Trump, and details about Trump's health are severely lacking.

A November letter about Trump's health, written by Aronwald and released by the former president's campaign, stood in stark contrast to a White House report on Biden's health, with the Post reporting it lacked "specifics like blood pressure and medications, the letter had just three paragraphs without specific numbers proclaiming that Trump was in 'excellent health' and had 'exceptional' cognitive ability. It did not disclose Trump’s weight."

An attempt by the Post to ask for more specifics was rebuffed after a visit to the doctor's office, with the doctor explaining, "There is no need for President Trump to release another medical report in addition to the one he recently made public. The President is strong physically and sharp cognitively, and he’s in excellent health overall.”

According to S. Jay Olshansky, "the lead author of a 2020 report in the journal Active Aging" on the relative health of Biden and Trump, there is not enough information to adequately address the former president's health status four years later.

"In his Nov. 23 letter about Trump’s health, Aronwald said he had conducted the most recent examination of Trump on Sept. 13, 2023. While not providing any specific numbers or names of prescription medication, Aronwald wrote that Trump’s 'overall health is excellent,' that his physical exams were 'well within the normal range and his cognitive exams were exceptional.' The letter also said that Trump’s cardiovascular studies were normal and cancer tests were negative," the report states.

According to aging expert Olshansky, "the full medical records are extraordinarily valuable. They tell a story about health prospects for survival going forward. You can’t really do a thorough assessment of life span and health span without the medical records.”

As for Aronwald, Ira Monka, the president of the American Osteopathic Association, stated he is well regarded in his field, telling the Post, his colleague is a "top concierge doctor," adding, "You get to that point, you could not get there if you were not a solid fundamentally strong primary care doctor.”

You can read more here.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

U.S. Capital Votes To Allow Concealed Firearms

U.S. Capital Votes To Allow Concealed Firearms

Washington (AFP) — City council members voted unanimously but reluctantly Tuesday to allow residents and visitors alike to carry concealed weapons in the streets of the U.S. capital.

The measure replaces Washington’s longstanding ban on carrying firearms in public, which a federal judge in July declared unconstitutional.

“We really don’t want to move forward with allowing more guns in the District of Columbia,” said council member Muriel Bowser, a front-runner in the city’s mayoral election in November.

“But we all know we have to be compliant with what the courts say,” she said, quoted by The Washington Post newspaper.

Washington outlawed public ownership of firearms in the mid-1970s, until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the ban violated Americans’ constitutional right “to keep and bear arms.”

Strict regulation remained in place, however, until July when a U.S. District Court judge ruled that a prohibition on carrying guns in public also violated the U.S. Constitution.

Tough gun laws are credited in part with helping to bring down Washington’s once-notorious homicide rate, with just over 100 murders reported last year.

Tuesday’s vote came amid the aftershock of a major security breach Friday when a former U.S. army soldier, carrying a small folding knife, jumped over a fence and into the White House.

Prosecutors revealed Monday in court that the accused, Omar Gonzalez, had more than 800 rounds of ammunition in his car, and had previously been arrested in Virgina with a sawed-off shotgun, among other firearms.

Under the city’s new legislation, gun-owners would still have to apply for a permit to carry a firearm in public, and show police that they have good reason to do so.

It would also remain illegal to carry a gun inside schools, hospital, government buildings, public transit, sports venues, and anywhere within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of a dignitary under police protection.

AFP Photo/Karen Bleier

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