Dr. Bornstein Has Great Things To Say About Trump

If Donald Trump is elected president (I still can’t type that sentence without questioning the reality I’m living in), he’ll be the healthiest person to ever become commander-in-chief. At least, that’s what Trump’s physician says. In a letter posted to Facebook, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein stated that Trump had “astonishingly excellent” lab test results, and is in better shape than any other previous U.S. president was when they took office. Naturally, this raises the question: Who is Dr. Harold N. Bornstein?

Let’s start with who he isn’t. Dr. Harold N. Bornstein is not, contrary to Trump’s claims, Dr. Jacob Bornstein. Jacob was Harold’s father; he served as Trump’s physician until 1980, at which point his son Harold took over. But when touting his test results on Twitter and Facebook, Trump accidentally mixed up the two, claiming that the elder Bornstein — who died five years ago — had written this report. Trump has since corrected the error.

Harold Bornstein is a gastroenterological specialist who practices at Lenox Hill Hospital in Brooklyn. According to his website (which, after his Trump announcement, collapsed under the influx of traffic and went offline), Bornstein graduated from the School of Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts, and did a fellowship in gastroenterology at a “Yale Affiliated Program.” He holds certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine and belongs to several professional medical associations.

According to his father’s obituary, Bornstein is married, and was married once before, too. His practice has a healthy 4.6/5 rating over at Health Grades, a website where patients leave reviews for doctors.

The letter that Bornstein wrote affirming Trump’s excellent health contains a typo: It’s addressed to “To Whom My Concern,” as opposed to “To Whom It May Concern.” Chris Geidner, an editor at Buzzfeed, joked that Bornstein might be “Trump in Groucho Marx disguise,” owing to the numerous Trump-esque phrases — “astonishingly excellent,” “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency” — in the letter.

"Over the past 39 years, I am pleased to report that Mr. Trump has no significant medical problems," says the letter. "Mr. Trump has had a recent complete medical examination that showed only positive results."

While Trump may indeed be in excellent health, it’s worth noting that, if elected, he’d be 70 when he took office, which would make him the oldest person to ever assume the U.S. presidency.