Who Is Less Healthy, Señor Trumpanzee Or Status Quo Joe?

Who cares about Trump's physical health, when it's his severe mental illness that is such an existential danger to the country? And Biden... I don't even see him as much more than a stuffed animal that's a front for the Democratic Establishment because there was no one who could beat Bernie and anything would be better than that. The only reason I'm concerned about who his running mate is, is-- as one member of Congress quipped earlier today-- she'll probably be president in a few months when he chokes on a pretzel and dies. All the names being bandied about are horrifying, except Elizabeth Warren, who they will probably never pick unless they were forced to be polling-- which isn't happening. They could throw a Barbie Doll on the ticket and Trump will still lose to the stuff animal.

There's no way Biden could win an election outside of Delaware-- but that is trumped by the fact that Trump is so loathed by the majority of Americans that no matter what the Democrats run, Trump will lose. Most people realize Biden is not physically up to the jump but-- as with everything that makes Biden so unpalatable-- they see Trump as in even worse physical shape. Two sick old men!

According to a new poll by Morning Consult, 33% of voters rate Trump’s health as poor, while 27% say Biden is in poor health. 40% think Señor Trumpanzee is in good or excellent health, compared with 39% who think the same of Biden.

Last week, the Trump campaign launched a website citing “Biden’s descent into incoherence” and arguing the former vice president is in cognitive decline. Trump’s rhetoric has constantly attacked attack Biden as "sleepy."

Yet days after the rollout of the website, Trump found himself on the defensive regarding his physical well-being. Footage from his June 13 graduation address at the U.S. Military Academy showed the president slowly descending a ramp and using two hands to drink a glass of water.

Although the videos circulated among liberal circles online for a number of days, the story was largely forgotten before Trump devoted significant time to addressing the incidents during his rally in Tulsa, Okla., last weekend.

...If elected, Biden would be the oldest person to assume the presidency on Inauguration Day, beating Trump, who is the current record-holder.

The former vice president, known for his history of gaffes, has had to combat questions about his age and health throughout his primary campaign.

Biden had two aneurysms discovered and treated in 1988. Medical records released in December 2019 revealed that Biden had an “irregularly irregular” heartbeat and was taking medication to control cholesterol, but his personal doctor concluded he was otherwise in good health.

Neither man has released his full health records.

This is what I feared all cycle-- that the presidential race will not be a contest of ideas but one comparing two incredibly flawed men in the most personal of ways. Who is closer to being committed to an insane asylum? Whose family is more corrupt and repulsive? Which one is more likely to do the most harm to American families? Which is more likely to die in office?

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

It's alleged that President Donnie Rectal Lips (Pictured) did have a test for coronavirus and we have been told that it came back negative. But, really? Are we actually suppose to believe that; given his history of completely bogus health reports that he wrote himself? It's a shame they only tested for coronavirus. They should have tested for syphilis too, and, while they were at it, dementia and IQ tests. But, it doesn't rally matter. His handlers/trainers will never cough up the truth. Besides, we can see the bottom line that really matters anyway. We can see it and hear it every time he speaks. We can see it in every action and non-action. Hey Donnie, let's have a look at those bone spurs, too!

The Physical

-by Helen Klein

It is rather surprising that “The Physical” is not getting more attention in the media. The lack of mention in the New York Times is particularly troubling and disappointing.

Trump recently had his first annual physical by Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, Navy Rear Admiral. When I saw a brief clip of the doctor’s presentation of his findings on MSNBC, I was surprised and struck by his manner and wording, which seemed weird and veered off toward inappropriate and unprofessional. He was gushing with praise and positivity for Trump and he was rather loose with his words. This is not what Americans expect of their doctors.



Clearly, I was not the only one with this reaction. In yesterday’s editorial in the Washington Post, “Is Trump’s Doctor Okay?” Dana Milbank was “alarmed, not about the president’s health, but the doctor’s.”

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson was so effusive in extolling the totally amazing, surpassingly marvelous, superbly stupendous and extremely awesome health of the president that the doctor sounded almost Trumpian. “The president’s overall health is excellent,” he said, repeating “excellent” eight times: “Hands down, there’s no question that he is in the excellent range... I put out in the statement that the president’s health is excellent, because his overall health is excellent... Overall, he has very, very good health. Excellent health.”

And just how excellent is His Excellency’s excellent health, doctor? “Incredible cardiac fitness,” was Dr. Jackson’s professional opinion. “He has incredible genes... He has incredibly good genes, and it’s just the way God made him.”

Really? Some of this sounds much like Trump’s own doctor, the disheveled hippie one who claimed that Trump’s health was better than any President ever. And Johnson’s comment about “his incredibly good genes” is virtually a direct quote from Trump.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN, making a rare house call to the White House briefing room, offered a second opinion. “He is taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, he has evidence of heart disease, and he’s borderline obese,” Gupta pointed out, citing Jackson’s own findings. “Can you characterize that as excellent health?”

Milbank further noted:

And not just his heart! The doctor rhapsodized about Trump’s vision, his stamina (“more energy than just about anybody”) and above all his mental acuity, which, Jackson made sure to note, he examined only “because the president asked me to.” Trump is “very sharp, and he’s very articulate... Very, very sharp, very intact... Absolutely no cognitive or mental issues whatsoever... The president did exceedingly well.”

There is definitely something not quite right here. In fact, Howard Dean, also a physician, questioned Johnson’s last statement, “absolutely no cognitive or mental issues whatsoever” when he was interviewed about his impressions on MSNBC.

Dean stated that the physical did not indicate that Trump was mentally fit for office and it was evident that Dean did not think so. He described Trump as having Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which has been zeroed in on by many professionals along with other possible categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, the bible for psychiatrists. In fact, while not a bona fide diagnostic category, Malignant Narcissism has often been described as fitting Trump to a T. Surely it is becoming increasingly obvious that Trump is “malignant” for our country.

What is important to emphasize is that Jackson did not actually assess Trump’s cognitive or mental acuity or his psychological or language functioning: Jackson had no basis for his conclusion that Trump has “absolutely no cognitive or mental issues whatsoever.”

Dean mentioned that Trump was administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. What is this scale?

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was designed as a rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction. It assesses different cognitive domains: attention and concentration, executive functions, memory, language, visuoconstructional skills, conceptual thinking, calculations, and orientation. Time to administer the MoCA is approximately 10 minutes. The total possible score is 30 points; a score of 26 or above is considered normal.

Thus the MoCA scale is a screening instrument, a brief battery for dementia. It is by no means comprehensive and it is not a neuropsychological battery, an intelligence test or an assessment of psychological or language functioning. It is a mini mental state neuropsychological assessment tool that screens for cognitive decline. The scale uses “snippets” from various neuropsychological measures-- it does NOT provide in depth assessment of any cognitive area. While it is helpful in picking up moderate to severe dementia, it is not necessarily effective in picking up some aspects of mild dementia. An individual could have other issues related to declining cognitive functions that would not show up on the MoCA.

While Trump’s 30 out of 30 score on the MoCA doers not indicate signs of dementia, findings do not rule out the possibility of other aspects of brain function that could be problematic and revealed through further neuropsychological and medical evaluations. The test takes only ten minutes!

While Trump has been crowing about the results, claiming he did “exceedingly well,” as usual he is way off base-- not showing signs of dementia is nothing to crow about.

Furthermore, there is absolutely no basis for Jackson’s conclusion that Trump’s physical indicates he has “absolutely no cognitive or mental issues.” This is not the case as Jackson did not examine these areas at all, or are they typically assessed as part of a routine physical. Trump did not undergo intelligence testing or psychiatric evaluation, which would zero in on his fitness for office. This is a broad area of concern by the American public, many in Congress and via Wolff’s book, many in the White House.

Jackson also viewed Trump as “very articulate.” This was obviously based on his superficial impressions during their brief interaction. This description is shocking, given the many examples of Trump’s off topic ruminations, incoherent remarks, difficulty putting a full sentence together, inability to finish a thought, poor grammar and syntax and struggles with word finding. A language evaluation would certainly be another area to pursue.

More from Milbank:

Jackson has been a well-regarded doctor. But since finding himself in Trump’s orbit, he has adopted the hyperbolic style and excessive flattery of the boss that we see in other, previously respectable members of Trump’s court.

In conclusion, while Trump’s basic general health appears satisfactory, Jackson’s presentation of the findings leaves much to be desired and is alarming to many. His use of over the top superlatives was unwarranted and uncalled for. His conclusions about Trump’s mental, cognitive and language skills are well beyond that indicated from a routine physical and appear misleading, unethical, unprofessional and even untrustworthy. Unfortunately, Jackson gives the impression of being a political lackey rather than a professional doctor of medicine. This is worrisome. One wonders if there were any findings he is hiding.

By the way, this morning Dr. Jackson commented that Trump could live to be 200, a scary thought. Need I say more?

Gail Collins: "Trump took something called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and got a perfect score. Not perhaps the highest bar possible, unless you were concerned about whether he can identify pictures of animals and draw hands on a clock."

If You Snort A Couple Of Adderalls Does It Show Up In A Drug Test?

Much has been made of Trump's snorting and sniffling at the debates. So Saturday, Mr. Projection Man suggested that Hillary was hopped up on drugs and that they should both agree to a drug test. Great idea-- and I suggested it an hour into the first debate when he was so obviously out of his mind on something he tooted before he went out on stage. Many have said cocaine, though I subsequently found out through his former doctor's office that it was Adderall.

Since Trump was in New Hampshire Saturday morning, ostensibly to address the state's serious opioid problem, what better time to accuse his opponent who is leading him in every poll in the state by increasing numbers, of being a drug abuser? (The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Hillary beating him in the Granite State by 3.6 points. The most recent poll, from U. Mass shows her up by 6 points-- 45-39% among likely voters). But he was in Portsmouth and none of the Republican candidates in state where anywhere in sight (just Jeff Sessions and Rudy Giuliani), so he decided to channel his rage into claiming Hillary had been "getting pumped up" before the last two debates. He then described his own state of drug abuse and attributed it to her, claiming, for example, that "at the beginning of her last debate, she was all pumped up at the beginning, and at the end it was like, huff, take me down." Tens of millions of Americans had seen that had been Trump, not Hillary. Anyway, as you can hear on the video above, Trump wants drug tests. Hillary should call him on it. And, while we're at it, how about an evaluation by a panel of impartial psychologists and psychiatrists?

I'm not taking the Wikileaks revelations all that seriously. There's no way of knowing how much of it is doctored Russian propaganda and how much is real. So I'm basically ignoring it all. Although, when investigating the numerous claims about Trump's cocaine use back in his Studio 54 days, I did stumble across a report from Kenneth Vogel in Saturday's Politico about how Clinton operatives tested out a line of attack against candidate Obama in 2008 that involved his own admitted youthful cocaine use. They never used it. But he wasn't sniffling like a mad dog on the debate stage.

Did Mr. Sniffles Just Pick His Nose Too Aggressively?

Look, I don't want to get anyone in trouble-- and I know from personal experience that Trump is a litigious asshole-- but, without having ever been in the room to see it myself, the Palm Beach doctors who give Trump his fat and "beauty" treatments taught him how to chop up Adderall and snort it. I was sure it was cocaine the night of the first debate too, but then I got the inside scoop about the Adderall. Nonetheless, it's worth mentioning-- in light of the sniffle-fest Sunday's debate turned into-- that actress Carrie Fisher tweeted to her million-plus followers that Trump's a coke freak.

Bruce Y. Lee is a Forbes contributor who covers the intersection of business and public health and is an Associate Professor of International Health at Johns Hopkins. He also would like to get to the bottom of Trump's endless sniffling and wrote about it at Forbes Monday right after debate #2. He's not so sure about the cocaine diagnosis that may people, like Fisher and Howard Dean, are so sure of. "[T]here are," he wrote, "plenty of other possible causes for what has now become chronic (i.e., continuing) sniffling such as:"

• Trump may have allergies: Allergies are the most common cause of chronic sniffling. This time of the year (August to November) ragweed is the most common culprit. Mold and fungi are other common possibilities in September and October.

• Trump may have chronic sinusitis: Sinusitis is inflammation of the sinuses, which blocks mucus drainage, which, in turn, may impair breathing. Allergies can lead to chronic sinusitis. So can growths in the nose like nasal polyps as well nasal defects such as a deviated nasal septum. Viral, bacterial and fungal infections are also common causes. Heartburn, otherwise known as gastroesophageal reflux (if you haven’t watched all the pharmaceutical commercials about heartburn that may give you heartburn), can also cause chronic sinusitis. Add cystic fibrosis and immune system problems to the list too.

• Trump may be irritated by something: This could explain the slightly constipated look. Common irritants include perfume or cologne, cigarette smoke and air pollution. Cold weather and bright lights can also cause irritation.

• Trump may be taking medications that cause sniffling: Medications that have sniffling as a possible side effect include blood pressure, birth control, antidepressant, antipsychotic and erectile dysfunction medications. Delivering medications to the nose can also cause irritation of the nasal passages such as steroid nose sprays for allergies and shoving Viagra up your nose.

• Trump may be pregnant: Less likely but if this is the cause, he is probably in his third trimester, and the sniffles should resolve within a few weeks of delivery.

• Trump may have a tic: Note this is not the bug, which is spelled tick. Trump does not have ticks as far as I can tell. A tic is an involuntary muscle movement, meaning that it is not deliberate. This would probably not be a simple childhood tic because Trump is not a child, age-wise. Tics can occur when a person has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), myoclonus, obsessive-compulsive disorder, epilepsy or Tourette’s syndrome. Anxiety and stress can also lead to tics.

• Trump may be crying: Debates can be tough. People who are very sensitive or strongly empathetic and sympathetic can also be prone to crying.

• Trump may have repeated head trauma: Blows to the head via sports such as football, boxing, soccer and ice hockey, or hitting your head with a brick over beauty pageant winners gaining weight, can cause irritation and even leakage of brain fluid into the nasal passages.

• Trump may have picked his nose too much or too aggressively: Nose picking can irritate the nasal passages and even lead to nosebleeds.

• Trump may have bleeding problems: Anything which decreases the ability of blood to clot properly, such as use of aspirin or blood thinners, and bleeding disorders such as hemophilia, can lead to nosebleeds.

•Trump may have something up his nose: Children often jam objects such as beans, peas and peanuts up their nose, which in turn can irritate the inside of their noses. Some adults do this as well.

Thus, sniffling, a runny nose or even nosebleeds should not automatically translate to cocaine use. (Remember, inhaling glue, “whippets” or “poppers” can also result in chronic sniffles.) Again, no one has presented any other evidence that Trump uses cocaine. Trump’s sniffling is now officially not a one-time thing. If it had just occurred during the first debate, he could have had a cold or other momentary infection…or maybe a defective or smelly microphone. Now, something in the list above probably is the reason for his chronic sniffling, with allergies, irritations or stress being the most common possibilities. Or maybe Trump is just a really, really sensitive guy.