Sanders and Bloomberg Campaigns War over Health Status: ‘This Is Such a Trumpy Lie’

Bernie Sanders, Michael Bloomberg
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Hannah Bleau

Michael Bloomberg’s (D) campaign accused Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) campaign of pushing a “Trumpy lie” about the former New York City mayor’s health after the socialist presidential hopeful’s press secretary claimed that Bloomberg has “suffered heart attacks” in the past.

Revolving around Sanders’ refusal to release additional health records, Briahna Joy Gray, Sanders’ national press secretary, said during a Wednesday discussion on CNN that Bloomberg has “suffered heart attacks” in the past.

“I think the American people deserve to know exactly as much as every other candidate has released in this race currently and historically,” she said.

She continued:

And what you’re seeing right now is really reminiscent of some of the kind of smear, kind of a skepticism campaigns that have been run against a lot of different candidates in the past questioning where they’re from, aspects of their lineage, et cetera, et cetera. And it’s really telling given that none of the same concern is being demonstrated for Michael Bloomberg, who is the same age as Bernie Sanders who has suffered heart attacks in the past.

She later said she “misspoke”:

Nonetheless, Bloomberg’s campaign reacted strongly to Gray’s claim, calling it a “Trumpy lie.”

“This is such a Trumpy lie from the Sanders camp, which rolls like Trump in many ways,” senior Bloomberg adviser Tim O’Brien said.

“Mike Bloomberg has *never* had a heart attack. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, has had a heart attack. Those are the facts. It’s a dangerous time when Sanders goes all in with Trumpism,” he added:

“It is a lie. Bernie Sanders is the Trump of the left. I honestly can’t tell the difference in their campaigns,” Bloomberg’s campaign manager Kevin Sheekey told CNN.

He continued:

A New York Times article from 2007 revealed that Bloomberg had “surgery to have two stents implanted in a coronary artery because of blockage in his heart” in 2001, but cited a source familiar with the matter, who said that Bloomberg “has not had heart disease since the stents were put in”:

A letter from Bloomberg’s physician, released in December, noted that the billionaire is taking blood thinner due to the development of “atrial fibrillation,” which developed in 2018, but described him as having “outstanding” health.

Sanders had emergency heart surgery last fall, placing two stents in a blocked artery after suffering from a heart attack. The socialist senator released letters from his doctors in December, who gave him a clean bill of health. However, he has since said he does not plan to release any more health records.

“We received — released two rather detailed letters from cardiologists. And we received — released a letter that came from the head of the U.S. Congress medical group, the physicians there,” he said during an appearance at Tuesday’s CNN town hall.

“So, I think we have released a detailed report, and I’m comfortable with what we have done,” he said.

“But just to be clear, you don’t plan to release any more records?” CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked.

“I don’t. I don’t think we will. No,” Sanders said.

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