Donald Trump Spends Several Minutes Explaining Why He Was Afraid To Walk Down Ramp At West Point Graduation
Donald Trump spent several minutes at his rally in Tulsa on Saturday explaining why he was afraid to walk down a ramp after speaking at West Point’s graduation last week, a scene that had led many to question whether the president had an undisclosed health problem.
Responding to criticism of his slow and awkward walk down the ramp following his remarks, Trump gave a lengthy explanation about why he was initially afraid to walk down the low-angle, sloping ramp that led from the stage to the ground. Trump said that he was worn out from standing in the sun and saluting the roughly 600 graduating cadets, and afraid that his leather-bottom shoes would make it difficult to walk down what he claimed was a slippery ramp.
As Business Insider noted, Trump recounted a conversation with a general who accompanied him down the stairs, saying he was sure he would fall.
“I said, ‘General, there is no way I can make it down that ramp without falling on my a**, general,'” Trump said.
As The Inquisitr reported, Trump had taken to Twitter last week to offer an explanation about his slow walk from the stage, saying that the ramp was very long and slippery, with no hand rail for him to hold onto.
Trump said at Saturday’s rally that if he had fallen, the “fake news” would have jumped on it, comparing the situation to President Gerald Ford falling and George H.W. Bush vomiting at a dinner in Japan. He also appeared upset at suggestions that he may be in poor health.
“I’ll let you know if there’s something wrong,” Trump told the crowd.
Trump also explained why it appeared he had difficulty lifting a glass of water to his mouth, needing to use his left hand when it seemed he was unable to do it with his right hand alone. At the rally, Trump claimed that he simply did not want to spill water on his tie.
"I don't want to get water on the tie" — Trump is now whining that people noticed that he seemed to have a hard time drinking water out of a glass at West Point last weekend. He then drinks water with one hand to prove he can do it. pic.twitter.com/MC3u3FR7RT
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 21, 2020
There had been many suggesting that Trump could be withholding some kind of serious medical diagnosis, with his critics pointing to a rushed visit to Walter Reed Hospital for Trump last November that was later described by the White House as the president completing a portion of his annual physical.
Yale University psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee, who has publicly raised concerns about the president’s health, wrote in a tweet after Trump’s slow walk down the ramp at West Point that she had observed a number of potentially troubling symptoms in the president since that hospital visit.
“The uneven gait is something I have remarked at least since his fall visit to Walter Reed, and a forward-leaning posture is associated with the difficulty holding a cup. Note that there has not been an annual report on his health this year,” she wrote.
