In a heated turn of events in the lead-up to the 2024 US Presidential election, former President Donald Trump has ignited controversy by calling for Vice President Kamala Harris to undergo a cognitive test. The suggestion, which Trump made in a social media post on October 14, comes as the two major candidates have increasingly sparred over their health, raising the stakes in what is becoming a highly personal campaign.

Trump’s comments came just a day after Harris publicly criticized the Republican nominee for allegedly withholding information about his own health. With the election just weeks away, the debate over physical and mental fitness is emerging as a central point of contention.

At 78, Trump himself would become the oldest US president to be inaugurated if he wins the November 5 election. However, rather than addressing concerns about his age and health, Trump redirected the conversation toward Harris. He claimed that recent public appearances by the Vice President suggested that she might not be mentally fit for the role.

“I believe it is very important that Kamala Harris pass a test on Cognitive Stamina and Agility,” Trump wrote on social media. “Her actions have led many to believe that there could be something very wrong with her.” The former president accused Harris of struggling in interviews and even claimed that CBS’s *60 Minutes* had altered a recent interview to protect her.

According to Trump, CBS edited out a particularly incoherent response from Harris during a recent 60 Minutes segment in which she was asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump insisted that the original response was a “word salad” and that her visible struggle to formulate an answer was later deceptively cut to make her appear more composed.

The Trump campaign has also weighed in on this issue, with national press secretary Karoline Leavitt accusing 60 Minutes of deceptive editing. “During the full interview on Monday evening, the word salad was deceptively edited to lessen Kamala’s idiotic response,” Leavitt told The New York Post.

The original response, according to Trump’s team, was 22 seconds long, and Harris appeared visibly uncomfortable while speaking. In the edited version, however, her answer was reduced to eight seconds, making her appear more confident and coherent. This alleged manipulation, Trump argues, is further evidence of Harris’s unfitness for office and media complicity in shielding her from public scrutiny.

Trump’s call for a cognitive test is just the latest salvo in a broader debate over the health of both presidential candidates. Over the past several weeks, the issue of transparency has loomed large, with both campaigns taking aim at each other’s physical and mental fitness for office.

Kamala Harris, who at 59 is significantly younger than Trump, has already released a detailed report on her health. Her physician, Dr. Joshua Simmons, declared in a statement that Harris is in “excellent health,” maintaining both the physical and mental stamina required to fulfill her duties as Vice President-and potentially as President.

The statement from Dr. Simmons, released after Harris underwent her most recent physical exam in April, described her health as “unremarkable.” He also emphasized that she leads an active lifestyle despite the demands of her position, offering reassurances to voters who may be concerned about her fitness for the presidency.

Despite this, Trump has continued to question Harris’s abilities, citing recent interviews where he claims she appeared “slow and lethargic.” He drew a comparison between Harris and President Joe Biden, who has also been the target of Trump’s frequent claims of cognitive decline during his time in office.

“We just went through almost four years of that,” Trump said, referencing his previous critiques of Biden. “We shouldn’t have to do it again.”

The Vice President has not remained silent in the face of Trump’s accusations. At a rally in North Carolina on October 13, Harris sharply criticized the former president for failing to be transparent with voters about his own health. She pointed out that, unlike Trump, she had willingly released her medical records and undergone a thorough health assessment.

“Check this out,” Harris said to her supporters. “He refuses to release his medical records. I’ve done it. Every other presidential candidate in the modern era has done it.”

Harris’s comments were bolstered by a letter organized by “Doctors for Harris,” a group of more than 230 medical professionals who expressed concern over Trump’s health. The letter, released on October 13, accused Trump of falling short of the “standard of fitness for office” and displaying worrying signs of mental decline. The group emphasized that voters were being forced to assess Trump’s health based solely on his public behavior since he has refused to release medical records.

“In the limited opportunities we can examine his behavior, he’s providing a deeply concerning snapshot,” the letter said, calling on the former president to be more transparent about his health.

The personal attacks on health and cognitive ability represent an unusual level of scrutiny in a presidential campaign. While age and health have been raised as concerns in past elections, rarely have candidates openly called for their opponents to undergo cognitive testing. Trump’s latest statements, combined with Harris’s sharp rebukes, suggest that this issue will continue to be a dominant theme in the final weeks of the campaign.

For voters, the escalating war of words presents a difficult choice. Both candidates have positioned themselves as the more capable leader, yet each is accusing the other of hiding serious health concerns. With such a tight race, the debate over transparency and fitness for office could sway undecided voters.

As election day approaches, it remains to be seen whether Trump’s call for a cognitive test for Harris will gain traction or backfire by drawing more attention to his own health. What is clear, however, is that the battle over fitness for office is shaping up to be a defining feature of the 2024 US Presidential election.

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