House Speaker Mike Johnson has claimed Donald Trump’s medical records are “irrelevant” to American voters after Kamala Harris released hers in a challenge to the man now running as the oldest presidential candidate in US history.

In a fiery exchange with host Kristen Welker on NBC News’s Meet The Press on Sunday, the Republican speaker defended Trump’s reluctance to share his health information claiming that he doesn’t need to because his apparent prowess is “on display” every day.

Initially, Johnson tried to falsely claim that Trump had in fact shared all of his own medical records, claiming “he has, he issued the records of his physicians.”

“Kamala Harris issued her medical records as a diversion because she’s desperate, because she’s sinking in the polls,” he said.

Johnson then went on to give examples of what he claims shows the 78-year-old’s fitness to serve.

“Donald Trump’s health is on display. Everyone in America can see it,” he said.

“The man works non-stop. He never quits. He probably sleeps four hours a night. He doesn’t require as much sleep as the average person – he’s an unusual figure.”

Launching into a lengthy praise of Trump’s “strength” as a leader, Welker tried to cut him off.

“Just to be clear, he has not released all of his medical records. He released two letters,” she corrected him, before Johnson interrupted her.

“It’s unnecessary. He’s on display every minute,” he said.

Welker then confronted Johnson with the fact that he just admitted that Trump hasn’t released his medical records.

“So it’s unnecessary. You can see that he didn’t release his medical records? You don’t want to know about things like his cholesterol level, whether he’s dealing with any issue we may not know about if he’s going to become commander-in-chief?” she said.

“He also said he would release cognitive tests which he aced. Should he release that?”

Johnson once again interjected: “The American people don’t care about the cholesterol level of Donald Trump. They care about the cost of living and the fact they cannot pay for groceries because Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s policies have put them in that situation.”

He then added: “The medical records are irrelevant.”

Trump has famously refused to share detailed information about his health and medical history, despite growing concerns about his age and mental acuity to serve another term – concerns that have ramped up of late.

In what marked a thinly-veiled challenge to Trump to share his health information with American voters, Harris, 59, released her medical report on Saturday.

In the two-page letter, the vice president’s physician Joshua Simmons writes that Harris is in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief.”

The Trump campaign quickly fired back at the report insisting that the Republican candidate is “in perfect and excellent health to be Commander in Chief” and that he “has maintained an extremely busy and active campaign schedule unlike any other in political history.” The campaign shared links to medical reports – one from almost a year ago in November 2023 and two about the wound to his ear following the assassination attempt in July.

After President Joe Biden, 81, dropped out of the 2024 race following concerns about his own competency, attention quickly turned to Trump’s own fitness to serve.

At 78, Trump is now the oldest presidential candidate in American history. If elected, he would be 82 when he leaves the White House.

And on the campaign trail, Trump’s rambling and increasingly angry speeches are fueling concerns about his age and mental fitness.

At his rallies, Trump often leaps from one topic to another apparently unrelated topic or train of thought, devolves into “word salads” and throws out wild claims and comments – with mentions of “the late, great Hannibal Lecter”, a fictional serial killer and cannibal, making more than one appearance.

Then came his debate performance, where Trump wildly – and falsely – claimed migrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.

Leading mental health experts, including a former White House doctor, told The Independent that he is showing signs of “cognitive decline” and appears to “have lost touch with reality.”

Former Trump ally turned critic Chris Christie became the latest to sound the alarm over his apparent mental decline this week, telling The New York Times that he has seen a “significant” change in his capabilities since 2016.

With questions mounting about Trump’s competence, a growing number of mental health professionals have called for independent and objective cognitive testing of both candidates ahead of November’s election.

Make sense of the US election with The Independent’s experts in our exclusive virtual event ‘Harris vs. Trump: who will make history?’ Reserve your space here.

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