Bloomberg aide hits back at Sanders campaign over ‘Trumpy lie’ about heart attacks

An aide to Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign fired back at the press secretary for Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who claimed on CNN early Wednesday that the former New York City mayor “has suffered heart attacks” in the past.

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

This is such a Trumpy lie from the Sanders camp, which rolls like Trump in many ways.

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. https://t.co/Yk6RlI8WaN

— Tim O’Brien (@TimOBrien) February 19, 2020

The tweet was in response to Sanders spokeswoman Briahna Joy Gray being asked by “New Day” co-anchor John Berman if “the American people deserve to know more” about the health of Sanders, who suffered a heart attack last fall.

“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 replied.

JUST NOW: Press Sec for @BernieSanders equates questions on his medical records to “smear” campaign. & claims @MikeBloomberg has “suffered heart attacks.”

Bloomberg had an irregular heartbeat & stents. But I’ve seen no record of attack. Checking now.pic.twitter.com/iW5Ag2xbUt

— John Berman (@JohnBerman) February 19, 2020

The Sanders spokeswoman tweeted later Wednesday morning that she “mispoke” when she said Bloomberg had a heart attack while offering no apology.

I mispoke when I said Bloomberg had a heart attack. Rather, he underwent the same stent procedure as Bernie. Bernie released 3 detailed medical reports in December — just like the other candidates.

— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) February 19, 2020

Bloomberg’s longtime doctor said in December that Bloomberg, who was 77 at the time, was in “outstanding health” and was receiving treatment for an irregular heartbeat, but had not suffered a heart attack. The report from Dr. Stephen D. Sisson also notes that Bloomberg, now 78, had a stent put in his heart to clear an artery in 2000 and “has had normal cardiac stress test.”

“There are no medical concerns, present or looming, that would prevent him from serving as President of the United States,” wrote Sisson, who also serves as a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

In 2018, Bloomberg developed an “atrial fibrillation,” which is defined as a type of irregular heartbeat that can increase the risk of stroke or a blood clot. Sisson said the former New York City mayor was taking a blood thinner for it.

Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey in a statement on Wednesday called the heart attacks claim by Gray an “absolute lie” and “completely false.”

The Hill has requested comment from the Sanders campaign.

In December, Sanders released letters from three doctors saying he is “fit and ready to serve as president” after suffering a heart attack in early October.

“You are in good health currently and you have been engaging vigorously in the rigors of your campaign, travel and other scheduled activities without any limitation,” said Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress who has served as Sanders’s primary physician for the past 29 years.

Sanders, who is 78, left the campaign trail briefly in October after suffering the heart attack and undergoing a stents-insertion procedure.

–Updated at 10:22 a.m.