Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence said Monday that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump should release detailed medical information on their physical health, arguing that the disclosures are in the public interest.
“People are vying for the highest office in the land,” the Indiana governor told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.” “People have a right to know.”
Clinton is taking a day off the campaign trail, staying at her home in Chappaqua after stumbling at a 9/11 commemoration event on Sunday. Aides later said she was diagnosed Friday with pneumonia.
Pence is in Washington ahead of meetings with Capitol Hill Republicans on Tuesday.
Asked if top Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani had gone too far in questioning Clinton’s health prior to Sunday’s incident, Pence demurred.
“We wish Hillary Clinton well. We’re praying for a swift recovery. We want to see her back on the campaign trail,” he said. “We’ll leave it at that.”
Tax disclosure
Pence also defended his running mate’s reluctance to release his tax returns, even though Pence himself just released reams of financial data about his own income and tax rates. Trump has said that he will not share his until a “routine audit” is completed — and Pence said the Republican nominee has every intention of doing so.
Pressed as to why Trump would not release topline information about previous returns now — which would not interfere with the audit process — Pence said Trump would release his returns “in totality” and “not parse them out piece by piece.”
Pence added that Trump was not violating any laws by withholding the data, though he acknowledged “there’s a bit of a tradition here.”
Trump Foundation
Pence also batted back increased scrutiny of Trump’s charitable foundation, with reports emerging that Trump is almost exclusively directing other people’s dollars — not his own — to charity work.
“Anyone who knows about Donald Trump his career knows that this is a man that has given away tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes,” Pence said. “There’s simply no question: You can talk to charities all across the country who have benefited by the generosity of the Trump family. And I am very, very proud of their charitable record.”