Trump’s Claim He Didn’t Have a Stroke Would Be More Convincing If He Didn’t Constantly Lie About Everything All the Time

Remember, last November, when Trump made an unscheduled visit to Walter Reed hospital in Maryland to supposedly take advantage of a “free weekend” to have part of his physical performed, even though it had been less than a year since his last one, he was free the weekend before and the one after, the visit didn’t follow protocols for a routine presidential medical exam, he never went back for the rest of the exam, and no report was released after the visit, as has been traditionally been the case? At the time, the White House claimed the trip was much ado about nothing, and that the hack liberal media was back on its usual FAKE NEWS bullshit. Eventually, the story died down, and attentions turned to the president’s penchant for witness tampering, his fake war on Thanksgiving, and his decision to go full anti-Semite in a room full of Jewish people.

This week, though, the mysterious visit popped up in the news again, with the release of New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt’s new book, which reads in part:

“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.”

Later, a single political analyst raised the question of whether or not the president had had a stroke, causing Trump to fly off the handle and insist he 100% definitely did not:

Shortly thereafter, the White House released a statement from the president’s doctor, Sean Conley, backing up the denial. “I can confirm that President Trump has not experienced nor been evaluated for a cerebrovascular accident (stroke), transient ischemic attack (mini stroke), or any acute cardiovascular emergencies, as have been incorrectly reported in the media,” Conley wrote, adding that “the President remains healthy and I have no concerns about his ability to maintain the rigorous schedule ahead of him.” Of course, doctors have vouched for Trump in the past, and their claims have ranged from categorically absurd to actually written by the patient himself. (In 2018, Ronny Jackson told the press corps the president had a shot at living to be 200 years old. In 2015, the Trump campaign released a letter from the candidate’s then doctor, Harold Bornstein, stating that he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” which Bornstein later admitted had been dictated by Trump.) White House aides also allegedly blamed CNN analyst Joe Lockhart for supposedly reporting that Trump had had a ministroke—which Lockhart didn’t!—and, just for good measure, Lockhart says Jackson attacked him on Twitter.

All of which feels a lot like a case of an administration doth protesting too much! But while Trump certainly exhibits some the symptoms of having had a stroke—he frequently slurs his words, gets easily confused, and struggles to control his limbs—at this time, there is no credible evidence to indicate that he has. And who knows, he probably didn’t! (Likely he just has a degenerative brain disease.) Unfortunately, it’s very hard to believe the president or his staff’s denials because they constantly lie about everything all the time. Crowd size. A deadly pandemic. How much Black people love him. Things he’s said on-camera in rooms full of people. Windmills. Toilets. Hillary Clinton’s health. Commercial flights full of looters. And thousands—literally thousands—of other things. So they’ll have to forgive people for not giving them the benefit of the doubt on this one.