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Health and Medical History of President Donald TrumpPresident #45: 2017-2021
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"An aggressively unreliable narrator." 1a |
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This style... | ... means the event occurred while President. |
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![]() Introduction |
Two introductory notes are warranted.
First, Dr. Zebra started this website in 1999 out of a concern that Americans too
oftened assumed that their president was making decisions in full
health and with healthy thinking processes.
Donald Trump, who had a severe and largely unrecognized illness that
happened to be psychiatric, epitomizes the stakes involved by that concern.
Dr. Zebra puts Trump's illness in historical context here →
MORE
Second, in compiling Trump's medical entries, Dr. Zebra has had to contend
with Trump's charitably described "aggressively unreliable" nature
1, using
an approach outlined here →
MORE
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![]() Medical data |
As a handy reference, various laboratory test results, spanning years, have been charted
MORE and consolidated links to his physician notes are available.
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![]() Family history |
Refer to the book by Trump's psychologist niece, Mary L. Trump, for a solid
argument that much of Trump's behavior can be explained by the
abnormal personalities and dynamics in his family
2.
Details of the Trump family's medical history are compiled here →
MORE.
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![]() Appendectomy |
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![]() Hay fever |
Talking to a TV-doctor in September 2016, Trump said 5:
Sometimes in the spring or in the fall, I'll get a little hay fever. And that comes and goes. Actually I don't know why this would be. It used to be worse when I was young. Maybe it's given up on me. ... But when I was young, it could be pretty rough, the hay fever. But very, very little now. |
![]() No heel spurs |
At the height of the Viet Nam war in 1968, 22-year-old Trump was found medically
unfit to be drafted, because of one or more heel spurs. In reality, the
heel spurs did not exist. They were fraudlently concocted to evade the draft.
Under oath, his personal attorney testified to the ruse in 2019,
confirming the previous year's revelations from
the daughter of the podiatrist who signed the papers.
MORE
A complete chronology of Trump's draft status is available.
MORE
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![]() Birthmarks |
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![]() Height, weight, and obesity |
Trump is obese. His 6 feet 2 inches of height and 244+ pounds of weight, give him
a body mass index (BMI) of 31.3, well above the threshold value, 30.0 kg/m2,
that defines obesity. Trump and his physicians have demeaned themselves with a
meager fiction that he is an inch taller.
MORE
A tabulation of his hights and weights is available.
MORE
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![]() ![]() Substance avoidance |
Trump has abstained from smoking and drinking throughout his life
3 -- perhaps because of his
brother's fate.
He also "never had a joint, never had any drugs, never even had a cup
of coffee" 7.
Comment:
His attitude to coffee is fatuous, given his large intake of
coffeinated soda.
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![]() ![]() Fear of sexually transmitted disease |
During an appearance on Howard Stern's radio program in 1997, Stern asked Trump
how he handled the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease from the
women he was dating 8. In response, Trump described
women's vaginas as "potential landmines,"
saying "there's some real danger there" and added:
It's amazing, I can't even believe it. I've been so lucky in terms of that whole world, it is a dangerous world out there. It's like Vietnam, sort of. It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier.Trump has deeply internalized this point of view. Four years earlier (1993, when age 36 or 37) he had told Stern 8: You know, if you're young, and in this era, and if you have any guilt about not having gone to Vietnam, we have our own Vietnam -- it's called the dating game ... Dating is like being in Vietnam. You're the equivalent of a soldier going over to Vietnam.Comment: Juvenile. |
![]() ![]() Small hands |
Measurements of Trump's hands shows they are small, not only for his height, but
for the male population in general.
For example, although Trump is taller than 95% of firefighters, 92% of
firefighters have larger hands than he does.
MORE
The smallness of his hands clearly nettles Trump.
It began with a magazine article calling him
a "short-fingered vulgarian" in the 1980s -- to which Trump wrote rebuttals for
more than 25 years 9. His sensitivity
extended into the 2016 presidential campaign, during which Trump
felt it necessary to characterize the size of his genitals
after an opponent mocked his small hands. He was still sensitive even into 2019.
MORE
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![]() Orange skin; tanning |
Trump's skin often has an orange hue. For example, the FBI director noted on
Jan. 6, 2017 that
"His face appeared slightly orange, with bright white half-moons
under his eyes where I assumed he placed small tanning goggles"
10a. Trump himself has complained of looking
orange, blaming it on light bulbs though this is incorrect (the bulbs do
not make his white teeth look orange)
11. Reports state he has also complained of looking too
yellow on television 11. Preposterously,
administration officials
have ascribed Trump's orangeness to "good genes" 11.
Trump is known to use "bronzer" -- "a powder or cream designed to give a tanned
look" -- sometimes in a thick layer. A line of
oxidized bronzer has been seen around his hairline. Trump prefers to apply his
make-up himself, in private, but the line is evidence of poor technique.
11
Whether Trump undergoes artificial tanning is unknown. Some accounts say yes,
but sources say the White House has no tanning booth nor tanning bed. However,
some Trump-owned properties offer spray-on tans. 11
Photographers have noticed that the white balance in Trump's 2017
official photograph is "too cold" but cannot be corrected without making
him look orange-ish 12.
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![]() Rosacea |
Not disclosed before the 2016 election, this usually-minor skin condition
was disclosed in a post-inaugural interview with Trump's physician,
Dr. Bornstein 13.
Before 2017 Trump was on a long-acting tetracycline for the condition
13, e.g. doxycycline or minocycline.
By February 2018 he was on ivermectin cream 14.
No reason for the change has been disclosed.
Comment:
Two possible reasons for the switch would be:
(a) a desire to limit the number of systemic medications any president takes,
and/or (b) tetracyclines (not so much minocycline) cause sensitivity to the sun
in some people, which would be a factor
if Trump does do artificial tanning.
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![]() Physical fears |
Trump harbors many fears about his personal safety.
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![]() Debate cold |
Despite Trump's claimed freedom from colds, it
"appeared that he was under the weather" during the first televised 2016
presidential campaign debate (September 26, 2016). "Weary-eyed and
gulping water, he looked as though he might fall asleep were it not for the
lectern's support."
19
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![]() ![]() Mental and physical exhaustion |
"Exhaustion" is the opposite of stamina. It can be physical or mental.
Trump's mental stamina is compromised by his sleep habits and, most probably,
by his sleep physiology, as discussed in a
separate entry.
Trump and his team have exaggerated his physical stamina
MORE,
not acknowledging the multiple occasions on which he had exceeded his energy reserves,
most notably his May 2017 trip to Europe
MORE.
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![]() Hair anomalies |
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![]() Unhealthy diet |
During his 2016 campaign and during his presidency, Tump had a peculiar and
unhealthy dietary focus on fast food, snacks, and Diet Coke.
MORE
His 2016 campaign manager wrote that the
"orchestrating and timing of Mr. Trump's meals was as important as any
other aspect of his march to the presidency," requiring great attention
from top aides to ensure the delivery of hot fast food after rallies
21.
In the White House, Trump consumed approximately a dozen Diet Cokes per day
22.
Pressing a button on his Oval Office desk would summon a White House butler
to bring him one 23.
In speculating on possible reasons for Trump's Coke gluttony
MORE, Dr. Zebra bets on either (a) he needs
the caffeine to counteract pathological somnolence, or (b) given his
fear of being poisoned,
he finds security in drinking from an unopened can.
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![]() Presbyopia |
President Trump, like every human past middle age, has presbyopia -- difficulty focusing
visually on a nearby objects, as when reading. While
George Washington's presbyopia arguably prevented a mililtary
coup in 1783,
Donald Trump's was a fiasco that not only threatened national security but also
epitomized the unsophisticated recklessness of a
"norm-breaking" approach to the presidency.
MORE
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![]() Cosmetic dentistry |
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![]() Circus-like physicals |
For physical exams while he was a private citizen,
Trump said, "Well, I try and do it every year"
5. His long-time personal physician has written:
"He has had an annual physical exam in the spring of every year"
4.
As a candidate, Trump issued three statements about his medical health:
Hence, four times in three years confidence in the office of the President's physician was undermined -- a low ebb in its history. Even if one credulously believes that the President's medical team has been completely and honestly forthcoming, all this sturm und drang is itself dangerous, as it can easily detract from substantive medical issues -- as it already seems to have done with Trump's sleep. |
![]() ![]() Coronary artery disease |
Trump has calcium deposits in his coronary arteries. They are extensive enough
to exceed a common threshold for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease
28
MORE.
The calcium was detected
on CT scans over a number of years, with the amount of calcium increasing each
time. (Results tabulated here: MORE)
Trump's risk of arterial disease progression seems to be
driven mainly by his age, cholesterol, and obesity
MORE.
Trump's secretiveness around his health makes it
impossible to say whether he has had direct complications of the disease
in his coronary (and other) arteries. Indirect complications may have
attended his covid-19 illness.
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![]() Genital morphology |
The issue first attained prominence in March 2016,
when Trump enlightened a national television audience
that was not expecting to hear about this topic
MORE.
After his election,
Stormy Daniels, a sex worker who claims to have had one episode of
unprotected vaginal intercourse with Trump in 2006
16, publicly described
the size and shape of his penis
29
30.
Her claim is, of course, disputed. However, sworn testimony
31 and evidence
collected by the FBI 32
lend it support.
Dr. Zebra has not seen challenges to her detailed description of Trump's anatomy
(as the description of William Clinton's anatomy
was challenged), but freely
admits tempering his sleuthish nature in the case of this particular topic,
and also in the matter of his admitted dislike for anal sex
33.
Comment:
Unprotected intercourse outside of a monogamous relationship is not
evidence of good judgment. See also 18.
Comment:
The House of Representatives impeached Trump on December 18, 2019,
thereby solidifying "Dr. Zebra's Law" which states: "Any
president whose genital morphology becomes a topic of public discussion
will be impeached." See the page for William Clinton.
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![]() Sleep and somnolence |
Because deranged sleep can contribute to any psychiatric illness, the
quantity and quality of Trump's sleep should have occupied a central role in
his medical care. This seems not to have been the case.
As described and discussed in detail
MORE, he experienced overt daytime
somnolence while in office that included sleeping during a G7 meeting in 2018
34. This is not surprising, given the
numerous factors that threatened his sleep health:
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![]() Frequent doctor contact |
Dr. Ronny Jackson saw the president most days,
"certainly several times a week,"
usually for a 30-second check-in, perhaps for something like a nasal spray.
Jackson several times called on John Kelly (chief of staff) to lobby for easing up
Trump's work schedule at times when Trump seemed under stress.
Kelly would try to accommodate by increasing the amount of "executive time" on the
calendar, e.g. by 2 hours a day
10b.
Frequent contact between doctor and patient has also been described by members
of the White House Medical Unit 24.
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![]() ![]() "Germaphobe" |
Trump has called himself a "germaphobe"
35
36,
stating: "I happen to be a clean-hands freak.
I feel much better after I thoroughly wash my hands, which I do as much as
possible" 37.
This is not something new.
During a radio interview in 1993 38
Trump admitted "It could be a psychological problem"
and host Howard Stern diagnosed:
"He's very wealthy and yet he's a prisoner of obsessive-compulsive disorder."
[Trump] also said he liked to drink through a straw rather than straight out of a glass. "I'd prefer drinking through a straw if I'm going to a restroom," he said. Stern asked: "Because you are afraid that the glasses can be contaminated?" "They certainly can be," Trump replied. ... "I like it. I like cleanliness. Cleanliness is a nice thing. Not only hands, body, everything," Trump added, telling Stern he had never sought professional help for his compulsive behavior.A magazine interview in 2011 reported: He's got a big thing about germs, so he's a frequent hand-washer and goes everywhere with packets of hand sanitizer stuffed into his suit jacket. He pulls one out now, dangling it in the air. It's a Super Sani-Cloth Germicidal Disposable Wipe ("The two-minute germicidal wipe") -- which isn't exactly the kind of market-share leader you might expect Trump to favor. He rubs his palms together. "I don't use Purell, Purell is too sticky, but this other stuff is great. I always carry a couple of them." 7This led him to write of handshaking in one of his books: "It's a medical fact that this is how germs are spread ... I wish we could follow the Japanese custom of bowing instead" 20. At one time Trump called shaking hands "barbaric" and in his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback said that pressing the flesh "is one of the curses of American society" 37. Medically, handwashing is a good thing. It may explain Trump's observation in 2016 that "People are amazed because I don't get much with the colds. ... I haven't had a cold in a long time. Years." 5 Trump's presidential physician has, however, disclosed that "he suffers from the same viral upper respiratory stuff that you and I do" 14 and has covered for him on the hand-washing habit 24. Trump has many times chased from his presence aides who seem to have a cold 36. And then the covid-19 pandemic struck. Comment: One wonders if his irrationally unshakable and counterproductive need to appear "strong" during the pandemic was born from a great and secret fear of the virus, plus a misplaced sense that the rest of the nation was as frightened about it as his germaphobia made him frightened of it. |
![]() ![]() Gingivitis / periodontitis |
MSNBC's program Deadline: White House telecast this image on
June 5, 2020, at about 1:23 PT.
Although reproduced below from an LED display and so not of the highest quality,
the photo clearly shows (1) a red line at the tooth-gum border, underlying all
four lower incisors and (2) on both his left and right sides,
a red mass in the gum between Trump's lower canine tooth and its
neighboring incisor.
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![]() ![]() Unexpected Walter Reed visit 2019 |
With no prior announcement, Trump was driven to Walter Reed Hospital during the
afternoon of Saturday, November 16, 2019, supposedly for a routine "interim"
physical examination
41. Despite reassuring statements from the
White House press office and, later, from the President's physician
that all was well with the President MORE,
the undeniably unusual logistics of the
event raised medical questions (that have yet to be answered) and
prompted much speculation (including from Dr. Zebra
MORE).
Eight months later, questions about Tump's health arose after he visited West Point.
In response, the White House released a summary of his physical, including a
statement that the physical had been completed at the White House.
Trump, however, later stated that the November visit to Walter Reed was the
conclusion of his physical.
42
Specific refutations of much of the earlier medical speculation were also released
43
44.
On the heels of this, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter from the New York Times
reported in a book
45a
that
In reporting for this book, I learned that in the hours leading up to Trump’s trip to the hospital, word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized. Pence never assumed the powers of the presidency, and the reason for Trump's trip to the doctor remains a mystery.Asked about this, Pence said he didn't recall being told to be on standby 46 -- a rather incredible statement 47. |
![]() ![]() Covid-19 and hydroxychloroquine |
During the height of the covid-19 pandemic's first American peak, in spring 2020, Trump
took a two-week course of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and zinc.
His personal physician tersely stated: "After numerous discussions he and I
had regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, we
concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks"
MORE.
Medical professionals widely criticized the action, owing to the absence of
good quality evidence that the benefit of HCQ outweighed its non-zero risks.
Comment:
The decision of Trump and his physician smells of panic. Apparently they judged
the risk of the disease to be so high that they felt justified in exposing
Trump to a medication that has well-documented significant side effects
and (as known then) had only weakly suggestive benefit against the disease.
Furthermore, time has shown that their judgment was wrong:
subsequent studies demonstrate that HCQ offers no benefit against covid-19
48
49
50
51
52
53
54.
Trump's admitted germaphobia would no doubt have
contributed to any panic.
Conspicuously, Dr. Conley's note did not say that he or any other physician
prescribed these agents.
Comment:
This is no defense. Conley could just as easily have written that Trump took the
medications against his advice or that he (Conley) had no opinion and left it
to Trump's decision. But he didn't.
Moreover, if Conley believed at the time that the benefits outweighed the risk
for his obese 73-year-old male patient with subclinical coronary artery disease, then
why didn't he (and the administration) press for the rest of the obese men age 73+
with coronary disease in the United States to begin taking the medication?
Conclusion: the White House physicians were either patsies or unethical or
both -- there is no other possibility.
Vice President Pence did not follow suit 55.
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![]() ![]() Personality disorder (introduction) |
Trump's mental status has generated analyses and opinions from co-workers
MORE,
mental health professionals
MORE including
his niece (Dr. Mary L. Trump), and Dr. Zebra, who was
driven by the events of 2020 to significantly revise his diagnosis
MORE.
The current assessments (January 2021) from Dr. Trump and Dr. Zebra are below.
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![]() ![]() Personality disorder |
Personality DisordersThe medical diagnoses usually applied to Trump's mind are illnesses known as "personality disorders." These diseases, of which there are 10 types, are the bread and butter of psychiatric practice in contemporary America 56. All have several characteristics in common:[Personality disorders are] pervasive, maladaptive, and chronic patterns of behavior, thinking, and feeling, ultimately leading to distress and dysfunction. Patients with personality disorders suffer from distorted perceptions of reality and abnormal affective behavior, manifesting in maladaptive coping mechanisms and distress. 57The psychiatric profession groups personality disorders into three clusters, unimaginatively called A, B, and C. Cluster-B, which is particularly relevant to Trump, is sometimes labeled the "dramatic/emotional/erratic" cluster and includes antisocial, narcissistic, histrionic, and "borderline" personality disorders 58. Commonly, patients will have more than one diagnosed disorder from within a cluster. Assessment of Dr. Mary TrumpTrump's niece, Dr. Mary L. Trump 2b, is a well-trained and experienced Ph.D. psychologist 2c. Although she certainly harbors biases against her uncle, she also knows him far better than any other mental health professional ever will. She assesses possible diagnoses for her uncle as follows:Narcissistic personality disorder: I have no problem calling Donald a narcissist -- he meets all nine criteria [listed in the DSM-5 book] 2c... [But] this is far beyond garden-variety narcissism; Donald is not simply weak; his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be. 2d Antisocial personality disorder: A case could be made that he also meets the criteria for antisocial personality disorder, which in its most severe form is generally considered a sociopathy but can also refer to chronic criminality, arrogance, and disregard for the rights of others. 2e Dependent personality disorder: [from Cluster-C] Donald may also meet some of the criteria for dependent personality disorder, the hallmarks of which include an inability to make decisions or take resposibility, discomfort with being alone, and going to excessive lengths to obtain support from others. 2f Other: Dr. Trump entertains the possibility of "a long undiagnosed learning disability that for decades has interfered with his ability to process information" 2f, as well as a co-morbid sleep disorder 2f.She summarizes: Donald's pathologies are so complex and his behaviors so often inexplicable that coming up with an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis would require a full battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests that he'll never sit for. 2eTestifying to the accuracy of this statement is the large number of relatively minor, but still unfathomable, behaviors noted elsewhere on this page: his caffeine hyper-consumption, his multiple personal fears, his germaphobia, his sexual bravado as expiation for the cowardice of his illegal draft evasion, his sensitivity about his hand size, his laughable hair style, his overabundant skin make-up, and so on. The DiagnosisDespite Mary Trump's warning about the difficulty in diagnosing her uncle, Dr. Zebra offers the following, which has been leavened by long discussions with an astute psychiatrist. Mr. Trump's psychiatric illness is best identified as "a mixed, severe personality disorder with sociopathic and borderline features." Specifically, it is a mixture of antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder.
Delusion or NotChallenging environments will typically worsen the symptoms of a personality disorder. Because Mr. Trump's 2020 was supremely challenging -- impeachment, epidemic, economic collapse, riots, defeat in the election, defeats in the courts -- it is no surprise that his conduct deteriorated at the beginning of 2021, leading to his second impeachment. If he has a genuine belief that he won the 2020 election, that is a delusion, defined by psychiatrists as "a fixed idea at variance with reality, unamenable to change, with the exception of religion" MORE. Delusions may occur as a symptom of severe personality disorders. But if his belief about winning the election is not genuine, and is instead part of a cynical ploy to manipulate the public and retain power, then that, too, is compatible with his antisocial personality disorder -- in fact, it is the essence of his disease. Trump's diagnosis, therefore, does not depend on whether he believes what he is saying. It depends only on his observable, indisputable actions.ImpactPersons with antisocial personality disorder are inherently biased to take only those actions in their immediate self-interest. For a leader, this equates to a gross impairment of judgment. In Trump's case, this was nowhere more apparent than in his videotaped message during the heinous riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in which he expressed sympathy and support for the rioters seeking to keep him in office. Thus, compared to President Woodrow Wilson, who suffered a shattering stroke in 1919 that left him partially paralyzed, Mr. Trump is no less paralyzed. But instead of being medically unable to move a limb, Trump is medically unable to move his mind to the common good, or, indeed, to move it to any good other than his own. No pill can cure this paralysis. The framers of the 25th Amendment may not have had in mind a psychiatric illness specifically like Mr. Trump's, but they certainly had in mind a debilitating neuro-psychiatric disease -- which his became. Thus, the Vice President and the Cabinet had a Constitutional duty to remove Mr. Trump from office using that Amendment. They also had a moral duty to make sure this unfortunate man gained access to medical treatment. Comment: Dr. Zebra learned something from the case of Donald Trump. For too long I believed that Trump could not possibly be genuine in his shabby attempts at peddling falsehoods and cons. I thought he was simply wrapping cynical artifice around a hidden core of rationality. But, as the diagnosis illuminates, his perpetual self-serving hucksterism is genuine. His disease has placed it at the core of his being, making it difficult for psychologically normal people to understand him and his actions. So, just as every historian writing about the last 18 months of Wilson's presidency must start with Wilson's stroke, every historian who writes about the Trump presidency must start with Trump's psychiatric illness. Dr. Zebra apologizes to his psychiatrist friends with whom he disagreed for years. You were right. Personality disorders disqualify a person for service in the US Air Force 59a. |
![]() ![]() Covid-19 |
The covid-19 virus infected Trump in late September 2020. He tested positive on October 1,
and, after news stories broke
60,
announced his infection on October 2
42.
Hours later -- after the stock market closed
61
-- national television showed Trump's
helicopter evacuation from the White House to Walter Reed Hospital. There he was
treated with experimental therapy before being released some days afterwards.
Dr. Zebra will have further details at a later time.
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Before Presidency | During Presidency |
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a This is not flip or gratuitous. All medical students are taught to declare, in the second sentence of any formal case presentation, their assessment of the reliability of the history that the patient has given. This habit wanes with experience, but is summoned whenever the reliability is not average and not self-evident.
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a p.24 b pp.12-14 c p.12 d p.198 e pp.12-13 f pp.13 g p.103
Comment: This Trump, niece of Donald Trump, is an experienced and well-trained Ph.D. psychologist (see p12).
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![]() | Comment: This articles relates to the first of Dr. Bornstein's letters, reprinted here --> MORE |
![]() | Comment: Dr. Bornstein became Trump's physician in 1980. Bornstein's letter is linked to by Frizell (op cit) and is archived here --> MORE |
![]() | Comment: Also includes annotations by Cillizza and Blake. Their interview transcript is archived here: MORE |
![]() | Comment: Obtained from The Smoking Gun reference. Scans available here --> MORE. |
![]() | Comment: The 1997 interview had been posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAJvMeat6sI but as of December 2019 is unavailable. Buzzfeed News has excerpts from the 1993 interview. Trump again likened Viet Nam to sexually transmitted diseases in 2007, per USA Today. |
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a p.66 b p.266
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![]() | Comment: The document is archived here --> MORE. Also highly informative is the press briefing where the report was delivered: MORE. |
![]() | Comment: A transcript of the press briefing is archived here --> MORE |
![]() | Comment: The document is archived here --> MORE |
![]() | Comment: The document is archived here --> MORE |
![]() | Comment: The document is unacceptably vague about dates. For example, it is not possible to determine on what date between Nov. 2019 and April 2020 the President's weight was measured. The document is archived here --> MORE |
![]() | Comment: Neiderhiser is correct in his observation, but otherwise not credible. |
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a pp.389-390
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a p.63
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![]() | Comment: As a specific example of foresight, see this 2018 article by Bill Gates: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmp1806283 |
![]() | Comment: Copy is archived here --> MORE |