The political row over Donald Trump‘s physical and mental vigour escalated dramatically today after the former US President branded all discussion of his declining health a ‘treasonous’ offence. Barely had the extraordinary, nearly 500-word rant hit the internet before California Governor Gavin Newsom fired back, immediately challenging the claim by publicly stating the president was ‘in poor physical health.’
In a remarkable act of political defiance, Newsom deliberately committed what Trump had just declared a high crime.
The extraordinary outburst came on Truth Social, where the 79-year-old launched a desperate plea to halt the persistent scrutiny surrounding his deteriorating state. He argued that after undergoing ‘Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else,’ he genuinely believed it was ‘seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean ‘THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.’
The lengthy declaration listed a series of far-fetched claims, attempting to convince the public he was at the ‘top of his game.’ These ranged from assertions that he was supposedly working the ‘longest’ hours ever to creating an ‘aura’ around the United States’ that had supposedly ‘earned worldwide respect.’
The rage post was reportedly triggered by a Monday op-ed in The New York Times where journalist Frank Bruni pointed out that Trump’s ‘vigour’ appeared to have declined alongside his recent approval ratings.
The president’s emotional declaration that ‘we should do something’ about the ‘treasonous’ questions over his health was never going to quell the speculation.
Governor Newsom, a frequent antagonist of the president, seized the opportunity, instantly shooting back his mocking, one-line post on X, thus ensuring the controversial narrative remains firmly in the public domain.
Donald Trump’s Fight Against Public Perception
The president’s attempt to shut down the discourse is understandable given the growing pile of public concerns.
Visible physical symptoms have been mounting, including persistent swelling in his legs—attributed by the White House to a chronic venous condition common in men of his age—along with unexplained bruising on his right hand and a concerning habit of falling asleep during official meetings. The repeated sight of his bandaged hand at rallies has become a fixture in media coverage.
This health narrative is directly impacting his political capital. A late November poll by Gallup put the president’s approval ratings at 36 per cent, marking the lowest point of his second term following a steady decline since he took office again in January.
Crucially, the rating sits only two points above his all-time low of 34 per cent, which was recorded in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot in 2021. The visible signs, coupled with the White House’s frequently confusing communications, continue to erode public confidence in his stability and fitness for office.
Mental Health Experts Raise Alarms Over Donald Trump’s Cognitive Decline
The physical concerns are only one part of the escalating crisis; mental health experts and pundits have also sounded a serious alarm over the president’s cognitive state. Public appearances have been punctuated by a worrying spate of memory lapses, verbal incoherence, and repeated confusion, which has intensely fuelled the speculation.
Dr. John Gartner, a former professor of psychology at Johns Hopkins, claimed last month that these public displays would ‘appear to represent clinical signs of dementia’. In a harrowing analysis, Dr. Gartner suggested this cognitive deterioration was exacerbating the president’s underlying ‘malignant’ personality disorder.
‘Whatever personality issues or problems [people with dementia] have begin to deteriorate and they become even more crude, disorganized, aggressive, confused versions of that personality disorder,’ he said.
This theory aligns uncomfortably with Trump’s recent bouts of confused aggression that have dominated headlines, such as the reported incident when he told a female journalist to be ‘quiet, piggy’ and his highly controversial calls for Democratic lawmakers to be executed.
The president’s latest escalation—claiming media coverage of his declining health by ‘horrible, biased, and untruthful’ outlets may no longer be covered by the First Amendment—only intensifies the concern over his current state of mind and its potential consequence for US democracy.
Further baffling the public, the president attended the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in October for what was confusingly billed as a second ‘annual’ physical. It was later revealed that this was for an MRI to check his ‘cardiovascular and abdominal health,’ according to the White House.
Yet, when questioned by reporters at the time, the president himself claimed he had ‘no idea’ what the scan was for. Governor Newsom’s provocative one-line tweet has ensured that the debate over the 79-year-old’s fitness for office remains firmly at the centre of the national conversation, regardless of the president’s ‘treasonous’ threats.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
