Ben Carson calls for 'elderly' presidential candidates to release medical records

Ben Carson.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson thinks it's only right that "elderly" candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton release their medical records. During an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday, the one-time 2016 GOP presidential candidate said that while it's already "common sense" for anyone running for president to "disclose their medical history," it becomes particularly pertinent if the candidates are getting up there in age. (Trump is 70, while Clinton will turn 69 just before Election Day.) "It makes sense. Because as people get older, things begin to happen to them," Carson said.

Last year, Trump released a letter from his gastroenterologist regarding his health that declared him ready to be the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Clinton's campaign, meanwhile, released a statement from her internist last summer detailing everything from her seasonal allergies to her concussion in 2012 — though that hasn't quelled rumors among conservatives that her health is failing.

Carson, a Trump surrogate, agrees with calls for Clinton to release her medical records — but he thinks that's a standard Trump should be held to as well. "Because [being president is] a very stressful job — it's not an eight-hour-a-day job, it's 24/7," Carson said. "We need to make sure that that is taken care of."

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Watch the segment, below. Becca Stanek

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