President Donald Trump seemed to have difficulty walking down a ramp after his commencement speech at West Point this past weekend, which, along with his seeming difficulty lifting a glass of water, has raised questions about his potential health problems. Dr. James Merikangas, who is a board-certified neurologist and clinical professor of neuropsychiatry, spoke out about the president’s possible health issues after seeing the videos of the event, according to The Independent .
On Saturday, after chatter about Trump’s awkward ramp walk ran wild on social media, inspiring the hashtag #TrumpIsNotWell, he tweeted about the situation. Trump claimed that the ramp was long and steep, slick, and did not have a rail, which is why he took such care with his descent. He said that toward the end, he went faster because he had momentum. However, only one of the president’s claims appeared to be true — the ramp did not have a rail.
Dr. Merikangas said he had noticed problems about President Trump’s posture for a while, and the video of the ramp also raised concerns for him.
“My reaction to that was that he’s got a problem with his balance and with his posture. This abnormal posture is something you see in people who’ve got a neurologic problem.”
Trump descended a ramp extremely carefully at the end of his West Point speech today pic.twitter.com/uMG3KyB1V1
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 13, 2020
The neurologist did not say what type of issue he felt the president might have, though. Still, he indicated that typically people who had balance and gait issues similar to Trump’s often had degenerative brain problems in the frontal lobes.
“It certainly is suspicious, the way he was walking.”
The incident also made people want to know the real reason for President Trump’s November 2016 unscheduled visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, which the administration played off as an early part of his annual physical. The event raised many red flags because officials did not have advance notice, the president rode in a motorcade instead of a helicopter, and Dr. Sean Conley traveled with him instead of meeting him there. So far, Trump has not released the results of this year’s physical.
Rick Wilson, the ex-GOP consultant, said that eventually all the details about the president’s health and seemingly unexpected visit to Walter Reed last year would come out to the public.
“I predict when all this is over, we’re going to find out that there have been some health scares and some medical issues that will pop our… eyes out.”
For now, many people want to know what, if any, health problems President Trump may have, and Wilson’s anti-Trump super PAC, The Lincoln Project , released a new ad questioning the president’s health.
