Really weird. Remember, it’s not like the doctor who conducted the physical was going to send the results directly to Oz and then he’d be allowed to discuss whatever he liked on air. Team Trump would decide which subjects would and wouldn’t be broached, by Oz’s own admission. They could have shared only the healthy numbers with Oz and asked him not to ask about the numbers that weren’t included. So what’s the risk to them in following through and airing the results on the show? They’re both showmen. That’s how showmen would do it, with fake suspense a la Maury Povich announcing paternity test results.

Donald J. Trump on Wednesday scrapped his previously announced plan to go over results from his most recent physical examination in a taped appearance with the television celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz, aides to the Republican presidential nominee said.

Instead, Mr. Trump, 70, will appear on the “Dr. Oz Show,” but the two men will have a general discussion about health and wellness, not one anchored to the fitness of one of the two major candidates for president…

[T]he appearance on Dr. Oz’s show, announced on Friday, had been anticipated as a potential breakthrough, as Mr. Trump’s aides had said that over the next few days he would release results from a physical examination taken last week. It was unclear when those results will be available after the change in approach with Dr. Oz.

Yesterday they said the results of the physical would be released “this week,” now they’re saying they’ll be released “soon.” Hmmmm.

The temptation is to assume that Brian Kilmeade, who pushed the idea yesterday that Trump would release his results on the show, simply misunderstood what the plan was. Last week, when Trump’s appearance on “Dr. Oz” was announced, the press release didn’t mention his physical, just that his “personal health regimen” would be discussed. Maybe Kilmeade oversold it. If he did, though, blame Dr. Oz for giving him a false impression. It was Oz himself who told Kilmeade in an interview yesterday that he’d be chatting about Trump’s “personal records.” When CNN asked the Trump campaign about that, Hope Hicks confirmed that airing the results of the physical was “considered, given the timing and platform” but they never settled on it. It sounds like Team Trump pulled back.

Again: Why? The whole point of this stunt is to let Trump contrast his (supposed) good heath and transparency with Clinton’s poor health and secrecy. He could sit there, yak with Dr. Oz about how strong his heart is, how good his blood pressure is, yadda yadda, and maybe toss in one elevated finding just to make it seem like he’s being forthcoming. “My cholesterol’s a little high? Well, whose isn’t?” Instead he’s handing the media a “What is Trump hiding?” story to pair with their Clinton coverage. The only plausible explanation is that there’s a bad result in the test that they felt they’d have to keep a secret from Oz and they were worried about him telling the media afterwards, “Well, they wouldn’t let me see his numbers on ______,” which of course would have kickstarted some specific speculation about what might be wrong with Trump. Although, in that case, how’s he going to release the results of the physical to the public at all? The bad numbers will be omitted and medical experts will notice, just as Oz would have. I don’t get it.

The latest word is that Trump is going to discuss “positive thinking” on the show. It’s going to be self-help pap. At least he’s picked the right format for that.

Update: The show is taping as I write this. Trump, not Oz, apparently came armed with some sort of numbers. Are these the actual results from the physical? Who knows?

Whiplash > Trump did apparently share some results from recent physical w Dr. Oz

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 14, 2016

Per source, Trump took out piece of paper and went over some of the results, after aides had said this AM he wouldn't w Dr. Oz

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 14, 2016

The exam was conducted by Dr. Bornstein, Trump’s regular doctor. Kilmeade thought possibly another doctor had been recruited for this, but no.