Trust me, for Trump, it’s better to fake a mysterious illness, which might evoke national sympathy, than to get impeached (or lose reelection), which would incite national ridicule. That’s why I think his oxymoronic mix of bluster and cowardice is behind this:
President Donald Trump’s visit to Walter Reed on Saturday did not follow the protocol of a routine presidential medical exam, according to a person familiar with the matter. …
His two previous physical exams in office were announced ahead of time by the White House and noted on his daily public schedule, but a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN Saturday that the President’s unannounced trip to the medical center was not even on the President’s internal schedule as of Saturday morning.
(CNN, November 17, 2019)
Things that make you go, hmmmm – no?
Alas, it’s foolhardy to look to administration officials, including White House doctors, to provide an accurate account of the reason for this visit. After all, those die-hard members of Trump’s cult would swear under oath that the obviously obese Trump is the fittest man to ever set foot in the Oval Office.
Ironically, though, his obesity might just provide the natural pretext for a fake diagnosis of some kind of illness that compels him to resign. Of course, he’d only play this face-saving card if it becomes clear that he will either be impeached (and convicted) or lose reelection.
Indeed, here’s what I wrote on the eve of his first physical as president:
The only question Trump’s fitness raises is which will come first:
a) Congress will impeach him; b) his Cabinet will declare him unfit; or c) voters will reject him.
(“Trump Gets Physical,” The iPINIONS Journal, January 11, 2018)
Given the prevailing politics afoot, that now seems pretty prescient – no?
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