If you have spent much time on the internet over the holiday, you know that questions swirl about Donald Trump’s current health status.
Purportedly, Trump went thirty days between rounds of golf. I have no idea whether someone actually saw Trump golf this weekend, though it was on his schedule. But it doesn’t look like it.
Trump also rarely tweeted over the weekend, going from four to three to one on Saturday. That was unusual. Of course, this all comes two weeks after Trump was rushed off to the hospital without real explanation. Given Trump’s secretive nature and trouble with “truth,” it would be negligent to not speculate as to all that is happening.
Indeed, Newsweek [1] has a new article focusing upon revelations contained in the new book “Anonymous; A Warning.” Anonymous states that though he/she is not competent to diagnose any issue, normal people around Trump do see an issue, quickly:
“He stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information, not occasionally but with regularity,”
What we see as covering criminal behavior may often be just a person declining in mental acuity, or a person with declining mental acuity also covering criminal behavior:
“Americans are used to him denying words that have come out of his mouth,” the senior official writes. “Sometimes this is to avoid responsibility.”
However, they say it often “appears Trump genuinely doesn’t remember important facts.”
Moreover, we are not talking about someone who had a lot of brainpower and judgment from which to diminish, according to Anonymous:
In addition to questioning Trump’s ability to recall basic terms that he has said or heard, the anonymous author also accuses the president of an “astounding” level of “intellectual laziness.” and was “bewildered how anyone could have run a private company on the empty mental tank President Trump relies upon every day to run the government.”
At this point, this ought to relieve us. After all, the only thing worse might be a president Trump staying up all night reading about how he might more effectively dismantle NATO.
But it isn’t just declining memory or intellectual laziness. There do appear to be some physical symptoms. Don’t take too much from any one video, nor any one person’s interpretation of any one video. But this Tweet did seem to catch some odd physical symptoms in Trump:
Trump in Afghanistan displays an odd gait. Here in slow motion, note the odd twist & drag of his right foot. Also note the left side. There appears to be some type of shock absorber heel on his shoe as he scrapes his foot on the downswing. He's probably receiving physical therapy pic.twitter.com/mQL4N3WXSk [2]
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) November 29, 2019 [3]
Eagle-eyed watchers on Twitter have also noticed that Trump hasn’t been using his left arm…it basically just hangs there.
Notice how Trump’s arm is just…laying limp? Trump usually is very animated with both hands.
This was from Trump’s surprise trip to Afghanistan over Thanksgiving. You normally wouldn’t notice this unless you specifically look for it:
What is wrong with
Trump’s left arm?pic.twitter.com/IU7KTxRaE4 [4]— Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) November 29, 2019 [5]
A few seconds into the above video, you will see Trump clapping, but it appears he is using his right arm to clap his left hand. Watch closely.
There are now several videos that show Trump with what appears to be weakness and limited range of motion in his left arm. Even when he uses it to clap, the left arm is static and the right arms does all the work. #FridayThoughts [6] #TrumpHealth [7] pic.twitter.com/2eZiNklBQo [8]
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) November 29, 2019 [9]
Trumps left side is not working normally…He is stiff and favors the left side completely. He cannot move his left arm and notice how he turns completely away when deferring to Pence…he’s messed up and they’re hiding it…what comes next? A full blown stroke? He’s not well
— Rondoman (@Rondo24f) November 26, 2019 [10]
But why is the media not talking about this?
Obviously, we cannot diagnose the man without a medical degree or a physical examination.
But remember when Hillary briefly fainted in the heat? Fox News and right-wing media wouldn’t let that go. It was EVERYWHERE [11].
Remember this dumb conspiracy, that Hillary Clinton was wearing some type of leg brace and it dropped out of her pants?
So why does Trump get a break? I mean, do you find this concerning:
Better footage of Trump struggling to get down the stairs of Air Force One. At one point it looks like he snaps at Melania telling her where to hold on. pic.twitter.com/4fDhVf1KM8 [12]
— Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) December 3, 2019 [13]
There is evidence out there that Trump is in a fairly rapid decline, noticeable to all those around him, and that should frighten all of us. History has taught us that the worst abuses from “strongmen” often occur when the “strongman” is lashing out against his own failures. Moreover, as we’ve noted here many times, Trump doesn’t have any of the advisors that had the sort of gravitas that forced Trump to back down on occasion and ignore his worst instincts, the Mattis’s, Kellys, McGahns and even Bannons are gone.
DEMENTIA ALERT- Trump clings to his 5"10" cane Melania & the railing while descending all the stairs of AF 1.
Melania was there to normalize it- but it looked bizarre. Trump's balance keeps worsening. It's a key symptom of his dementia & as noted here, will be a game changer. pic.twitter.com/vYxorHG098 [14]
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) December 2, 2019 [15]
The presidency wears at everyone, we’re not faulting Trump for getting “worn down.” That’s not the issue. But Trump may well have mental and physical health concerns that go well beyond anything he’s disclosed, including processes that impact rationality and patience. This is a particularly difficult time, coming at the end of the year, and impeachment happening.
Trump is currently in the United Kingdom for four days of meetings with NATO leaders on NATO’s anniversary. We will see how he fares. Generally, he doesn’t do well overseas. Many older people struggle with long travel and upset schedules, no matter how comfortable the traveling conditions.