Yes, according to the Washington Examiner, Donald Trump said today that he believes both candidates should be administered a drug test prior to the debates. This is flat bizarre coming from a man who is still doing everything possible to hide his taxes from the American people and has not yet released any sort of results from his “annual” physical, that same physical that he says he’s not had time to complete. Trump released only a one-paragraph letter from some doctor saying that his condition remains unchanged from his last exam. One could read that statement as fairly damning if the last exam was done secretly and one wants to think conspiratorially.

Trump justifies the request for a drug test because Biden showed dramatic improvement in his debates during the Democratic primary. Of all the justifications he could have chosen this one sticks out as uniquely stupid. We might also note that the net is littered with reports stating that Trump presumes that everyone is like him, does the things he does, thinks what he thinks, and twists rules and norms behind the scenes. He truly sees himself as normal. This tendency explains his fanaticism about Clinton’s emails, certain they contained evidence of behavior as damning as his – except Trump famously doesn’t use email, or letters, and yells at people taking notes. He learned well at the knee of Roy Cohn.

Let’s be real. There is no conceivable way that Trump actually believes that either of them is going to take a drug test prior to the debate, no matter what Trump says – unless Trump knows how he’d rig it (sadly, not impossible). Trump – as per usual – just wants to color Biden with some doubt as well as cover rumors that have long swirled around Trump about his use of both illicit drugs and misuse of prescription drugs. Indeed, Trump’s behavior changes so erratically from one day to another that very prominent people have openly speculated that Trump’s second job is acting as his own pharmacist. Trump may be proposing this ludicrous idea to head off some of those rumors. He knows it will never happen.

This quote is out today despite the fact that Trump is referencing Biden debate performances from over a year ago.

“Nobody thought that he was even going to win,” Trump said. “Because his debate performances were so bad. Frankly, his best performance was against Bernie. We’re going to call for a drug test, by the way, because his best performance was against Bernie. It wasn’t that he was Winston Churchill because he wasn’t, but it was a normal, boring debate. You know, nothing amazing happened. And we are going to call for a drug test because there’s no way — you can’t do that.”

As always, Trump first accuses an opponent of issues that threaten to hurt him (“crooked Hillary”). Always. So now he associates Biden with “drugs” doing damage with the accusation alone, and providing a ready-made excuse if Biden drops the hammer on Trump in a debate. “He wouldn’t take the drug test!” As if this was Olympic weightlifting.

Well, it is a prizefight,” Trump answered. “It’s no different from the gladiators, except we have to use our brain and our mouth. And our body to stand. I want all standing; they want to sit down.”

In prize fights, drug tests are administered directly before and after the fight. We doubt that’s what Trump has in mind – which is no test at all.

We have no concerns that Biden is using any medication improperly. One doesn’t steadily hold the jobs he’s held for five decades if up and down on improper use of anything. To the extent that Biden’s doctors have him on medication that improves his function, how can that possibly be held against him?

For that reason, the Biden camp should strongly consider quickly accepting the offer and demand a pre-debate hair follicle test, the type that will detect all drugs used back at least three months. Biden should also demand an immediate post-debate test to determine if either utilized quickly before the debate. Hours would pass as Trump formed the words constituting his panic attack. In such a scenario, the absolute worst-case scenario still costs Biden nothing. Moreover, Biden should insist upon the most comprehensive test in existence, not just drugs of abuse, but therapeutic medications, too.

Accepting the challenge would put Biden in a position to make his own demands that could near force Trump out of the race. Biden would have the perfect opportunity to insist that Trump submit to a full physical done by a neutral physician and produce his taxes prior to the debate. After all, Biden can say “I stepped up to his challenge because I have nothing to hide. This man hides everything. Trump promised to disclose his taxes after the audit, yet never mentioned an audit to the SCOTUS, and the SCOTUS ordered Trump to turn over near everything to New York and some to congress. Trump is applying for the job again and he owes us the facts. When he challenged me, I accepted. I now challenge him.”

One rarely runs into a situation where there is near no downside but unlimited upside. Just because it’s unusual doesn’t mean it isn’t a massive opportunity.

There is no way Trump really believes that there will be a drug test. It is far more likely that Trump shot his mouth half-cocked, sure that it will never happen. And It probably won’t happen anyway, but Biden ought to readily accept. If Biden takes medicines that may be slightly embarrassing doctors it might almost be better. He can say the American people deserve nothing less than the truth and he’s not afraid of tough answers. And he moves straight into, “So why is Trump still hiding his taxes, still hiding his physical, and now refusing to go through with his own challenge. Think about what that means. He doesn’t respect the people enough to humble himself.”

Damn it, Joe. We know you’re ahead. We know that people ahead should play it conservative. But this man doesn’t play by the rules and being ahead doesn’t mean what it might against anyone else. Trump fights dirty, so do something totally unexpected to put some distance between the two of you.

As a final gut punch, Biden could even insist upon international observers, saying that it’s symbolic of just how much damage Trump has done to democracy in America. But then Joe can look straight into the camera and say “I’m not afraid.”

Trump would be, immediately.

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom