August 19, 2016Gronda Morin

aside Hillary Clinton V Donald Trump’s Health Status

Allegations regarding Hillary Clinton’s health problems has been winding its way through the right wing websites until Sean Hannity of FOX TV devoted an entire evening to giving this concocted tale any credibility.

Then Dr. Drew of HLN publicly voiced concerns about Mrs. Clinton’s health. Of course the far right has jumped on this band wagon, as supporting their false assertions. In this case, I choose to defer to her board certified internist of 15 years, Dr. Lisa Bardack, Director of Internal Medicine at Mt. Sinai Health Systems, a position of significant stature.

Robert Farley of FactCheck.org published a report on 8/16/16 about Hillary Clinton’s fake medical reports. The following are excerpts:

“Clinton’s longtime physician — whose name appears atop the alleged “leaked” documents — released a statement to FactCheck.org calling the documents “false,” and reiterating her diagnosis that Clinton is “in excellent health and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

elections hrc health fake dr report hrc fakedoc1“The fake records are making the rounds just as some in the conservative media have been baselessly questioning Clinton’s health. Among them was Fox News’ Sean Hannity, who played a tape of Clinton vigorously shaking her head in a manner he deemed “seizure-esque” (although neither of the medical experts on his program agreed).

“The doctored documents play off Clinton’s very real concussion in December 2012 — which caused her to suffer double vision for nearly two months starting in late 2012. But her long-time physician, Lisa Bardack, director of internal medicine, Mount Sinai Health System at CareMount Medical, says follow-up medical exams in 2013 “revealed complete resolution of the effects of the concussion.”

“The fake documents, dated Feb. 5, 2014, which appear to have originated from a since-deleted Twitter account, purport to come from Dr. Bardack. But her title is wrong on the letterhead.”

The letter purports to indicate that Clinton suffered complications from a 2012 concussion including “blacking out,” “uncontrollable twitching” and “memory loss.” It says Clinton has previously been diagnosed as having “Complex Partial Seizures” and “early-onset Subcortical Vascular Dementia.” The images were shared and discussed on numerous  websites and insocial media. But again, we can’t stress this enough: It’s a fake document.”

elections best pix dr lisa bardack story_00747332_1471434311

“In a statement provided to FactCheck.org by the Clinton campaign, Bardack dismissed the authenticity of these documents, saying they are “false, were not written by me and are not based on any medical facts.”

“Bardack, who has served as Clinton’s personal physician since 2001, did publicly release a summary of Clinton’s health history and a medical evaluation in a letter dated July 28, 2015. It paints a much different picture than the fake documents.”

“According to Bardack’s letter, Clinton “is a healthy 67-year-old female whose current medical conditions include hypothyroidism and seasonal pollen allergies…She is in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as President of the United States.”

Letter by Dr. Bardack
Above letter is by Dr. Bardack

There have been numerous other news reports debunking all of these deceptive details about the democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. The one that I will use as a reference is the 8/16/16 Newsweek article, “DONALD TRUMP TESTS POSITIVE FOR EVERYTHING, ACCORDING TO HIS OWN DOCTOR,” by Keith Eichenwald. The author takes exception to those accusing Mrs. Clinton of having seizures when he actually does suffers from epilepsy. Here are some excerpts:

“Donald Trump tests positive for every medical ailment. All of them. Supposedly, that’s what his doctor says—or at least, that’s what the Trump campaign portrays him as saying.”

emails 160201150128-trump-clinton-split-portrait-exlarge-169“On Monday 8/15/16, Trump opined that Hillary Clinton did not have the mental or physical stamina to be president. This was playing off of a conspiracy theory that has been pushed in the conservative media and by Trump supporters for weeks… Fox News’s Sean Hannity and others even attempted to claim Clinton suffered from seizures, a vile misrepresentation that harms people who have epilepsy, as I do.”

“Still, the Trump acolytes have not dropped their lying campaign about Clinton’s health, and their argument that people with epilepsy are unfit for political office.”

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Hillary Clinton
“On July 28, 2015, the Clinton campaign released a typical medical letter from an internist, whom she has seen since 2001—Lisa Bardack, director of internal medicine, Mount Sinai Health System at CareMount Medical. The letter is a typical medical history, and begins with the usual summary of a full physical, calling her a “healthy 67-year-old female.” It lists medical issues and the findings of testing. The tests, it says, were negative, meaning they showed no problems. To use the medical terminology, it is an unremarkable document.”

On December 4, 2015, the Trump campaign released…something.

elections donaldtrumpdoctorletter 098

“It purports to be a medical letter, but it is one of the most ridiculous documents ever to emerge in any political campaign. First, the letterhead is in the same font as the letter, which appears to have been created using Microsoft Word. The signature from the doctor is several inches past the signature line—the result you might get if the document had been signed as a blank and filled in later. The letterhead includes a Gmail address—something doctors tell me is extremely unusual.” (Note the F.A.C.G. initials after the M.D.; Rachel Maddow reported on 8/18/16 that Dr. Bornstein hasn’t been a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology for 20 years due to non payment of dues.)

donald trump 90585There is also a website listed, but if you follow the URL (haroldbornsteinmd.com), sometimes it takes you to cdn.freefarcy.com, a blank page that asks if you want to upload an update to a Flash program onto your computer (the domain name, freefarcy.com, is still for sale. No, I can’t explain that.) If you decline, it does so anyway and, based on the response of the security system on my computer, the “program” on the doctor’s supposed website is a virus.”  (Other times it takes you to a generic medical website. No, I can’t explain that either.)

“Then, there is the doctor who allegedly signed this document. His name is Harold N. Bornstein, and he is a gastroenterologist. This kind of physician is a specialist who treats the digestive tract. This is not an internist, who is trained specifically in providing full histories and physicals of patients. The letter signed by Dr. Bornstein, who did not return an email from Newsweek seeking comment, says that he has treated Trump since 1980. However, it mentions no history of the gastrointestinal problem that led the Republican candidate for president to seek out his help (for 35 years).”

elections great cartoon hrc and trump cartoon

“Unlike the Clinton letter, it does not contain a full medical history for Trump. The letter also has problems with sentence structure and major typographical errors, such as the opening line, “To Whom My Concern.” Most amusing, it says that his medical examination of Trump has “only positive results.” In medical terms, if the test is positive, it confirms the existence of disease. Is this doctor saying Trump has every medical ailment that could be found in examination? Does he not know the meaning of the word? Or, as I suspect, was the letter written by someone in the Trump campaign?”

“Anyone reading the letter can make a good guess about who that person might be. It says results were “extraordinarily excellent.” (Not a medical term.) It says, “His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary.” (Not a medical term.)”

elections great cartoon trump helps hillary

“If conservative conspiracy theorists want to play a “the candidate could have health problems” game, let’s do that. The letter from the Trump campaign mentions nothing about family history, as any normal letter assessing someone’s medical condition would. (Clinton’s does.) Family history is critical in understanding possible diseases that may emerge.  Trump’s father, Fred Trump, died from complications of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. That condition, which is the most common form of Alzheimer’s, emerges in people in their -60s or later. Trump is 70.”

26 comments

    • Dear Carl,

      Yes!! I am her same age and I’ve been envious of how she just keeps going and going. I can be critical of actions by her, President Obama, President Bush without having to resort to fabrications.

      Thanks for stopping by, Gronda

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  3. This imperfect woman has taken far more crap than any candidate I have ever witnessed dating back to the 1990s. Stories that have been disproven or were blown out beyond proportions linger like the smell of fish. Like all of us she has made some errors and she could be more forthcoming, but as a woman she has to be better than a man to become a leader.If she said (or did) any of the inane, hateful and bigoted things that Trump has said (or done), her campaign would have been over.

    One thing I have observed, is Clinton is not only more competent and experienced, she is far tougher than her thin-skinned opponent. Could you imagine Trump getting grilled for eleven hours at the eighth Benghazi hearing designed to impugn her? So, in terms of health, I would take my chances with her.

    Please note, I understand people’s reservations about her. I chose Obama over he last time. Yet, while she is not a born politician, she is does know the issues and will understand how to make an informed decision. Trump knows neither and will make a rash decision since his ego won’t allow room for others.

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    • I voted for President Obama as well in 2008. I had planned to vote for Senator McCain until he picked Sarah Palin as VP. When a close friend of mine heard about my vote, it took a month before she would talk to me again.

      Few of us could withstand the level of scrutiny that HRC has endured. Then when the dirt is a complete fabrication, it shouldn’t be allowed to continue, unchecked.

      I have been critical of HRC, President Obama and President Bush for their handling on certain issues, but not on a personal, mean spirited manner. I hate the ugly discourse that attempts to dehumanize everyone who thinks differently.

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      • Gronda, you and I must be alike in many ways. I considered McCain as he was a more moderate Republican and was not that far different from Obama who is a moderate Democrat (I get tickled when I hear Obama is more liberal than he is). I was leaning toward Obama, before the conventions, but when McCain picked Palin, it brought McCain’s age into question, as his VP candidate would be a heart beat from the presidency and knew very little about much of anything and still doesn’t.

        I also felt McCain got railroaded in the 2000 election when he was leading Bush heading to SC and the Bush campaign spread a rumor that McCain fathered a black child out of wedlock. The real truth is McCain and his wife adopted a girl from India. You can still find the stories online about this rumor just like you can some of the stories told about the Clintons, which keep coming up, but many are not true.

        Thanks, Keith

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        • Dear Keith,

          I’m convinced that there are a lot of folks like ourselves out there in the real world.

          For me , when the right start spouting rhetoric that President Obama is a Muslim who was born in Kenya and who hates America, they lose any credibility.Those who say that HRC is a liar and a crook who needs to be locked up, are speaking to the republican far right base while turning off people like me.

          The same is true for the left. There are those who still truly believe that President Bush was behind 9/11 events in order to use this as a pretext for invading Iraq.

          I remember well the South Carolina dirty tricks used by the Bush campaign, at a time when I was a supporter of Senator McCain..

          I am sick over what has happened to the republican party, Gronda

          PS. My son accuses me of becoming a flaming liberal at my mature age. I answer that I am an American first before a party member and that I will vote accordingly.

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        • Gronda, it is funny that we have become this “all or none” society, when everyone are shades of gray. I have been a member of both parties and am now an independent. I tell people I am fiscally conservative, but socially progressive. I am often accused of being a Democrat in my posts and emails I send out, but the reason is my former Republican party is on the wrong side of far more issues than not. So, when folks say both sides are at fault for something, I usually say they are, but it is not a normal distribution.

          What I shared with this moderate Republican council man the other day is when did collaboration become a bad word? He concurred. The main reason I blog is for my own sanity as I see the news outlets not doing their job, either being biased, shallow, conflicted or not watched, read or listened to when the few do it the right way. Trump should never been allowed to get this far if the media did its job. Even still, there is too little talk of his history and how he has screwed over thousands upon thousands of people as part of his modus operandi, many of whom look just like his followers.

          I am glad I was guided to your blog (or maybe it was the other way around). It is nice chatting with you. Keith

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        • Dear Keith,

          You are dittoing my thoughts. I have been very annoyed with the laziness of the U.S. media. People forget that before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq 2/3 of main media outlets including the NY Times were favoring this action. They dropped the ball and failed their readers.

          The recent coverage on Benghazi and HRC emails has been abysmal. I am not saying that HRC is without sin, but that there is a lot of context to these stories that is missing.

          Thanks for commenting, Gronda

          Like

        • Interesting headline and article from a survey of the National Association of Business Economists. By a 4 to 1 margin, these working economists say they believe Hillary Clinton will manage the economy better than Donald Trump at 55% to 14%. Trump actually trails Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate who comes in at 15%. The article can be linked to below.

          http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/by-4-to-1-margin-business-economists-say-clinton-would-manage-economy-better-than-trump/ar-BBvTwlQ?li=AA4Zjn&ocid=spartandhp

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  5. I agree with all the comments. All these lies and smears should be debunked IMMEDIATELY. If it’s allowed to fester and marinate, what happened to John Kerry would happen to HRC, too… swiftboated.

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    • Renxkyoko, With DT’s new manager, Mr. Bannon, there is a fair chance the conspiracy theories will be on steroids. Yes, the HRC team has to be ready to fight back asap. Thanks for stopping by, Gronda

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Rob, I have this gut feeling (not factually based) that a lot of women will end up voting for HRC because of the bullying. I can only hope.

      I would love for these bullies to lose big time and for HRC to end up being one of the greatest presidents ever. This would be true revenge.

      I keep playing this song in my thoughts, California dreaming…., Gronda.

      Liked by 1 person

        • Dear Rob,

          Oh you bet! I remember in 2008 (New Hampshire primary) when HRC was expected to lose to President Obama big time.. The NH women gave her a surprise victory because they did not like how HRC was being treated. We are more than 1/2 of the population.

          Let’s see what happens, Gronda

          Like

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