Trump slams rumors about Parkinson's after hobbling off West Point stage, insists he 'ran' down ramp at the end
Whatever President Donald Trump says or does, it doesn’t take the media too long to latch on to. Recently, he was found walking down a ramp daintily after delivering a speech at West Point and rumors over his health conditions started spreading like wildfire.
The president, who turned 74 last weekend, even defended himself against the speculation saying he had to negotiate with “long, steep and slippery” ramp with no handrail and did not want to fall to allow the media make fun of him. But it hasn’t convinced all and the president is now faced with the question on whether he has Parkinson’s.
Trump appeared for an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, June 17, where he expressed his frustration over the fact that the media was not sparing his cautious walk. “I stayed there for hours. And what do I do? I get publicity about walking down a ramp,” he said. Trump rubbished the speculation that he has Parkinson’s - a brain disorder - and told the WSJ interviewer at the Oval Office that he was walking down slow at the West Point ramp because he was wearing leather-bottom shoes. He also reiterated what he mentioned in his tweet: He ran down the final 10 feet to reach the level ground.
This is not the first time that Trump’s health has come under questioning. His mysterious hospital visits in the past have often raised eyebrows while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced flak last month for having taunted Trump, weighing 243lb, as “morbidly obese” after the president said he takes hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure against Covid-19.
Trump, who hadn’t mentioned his shoes in his earlier tweet to defend his uncertain ‘ramp walk’, told the WSJ interviewer, Michale Bender, that he could show him the footwear if he wanted to understand the walk had nothing to do with health.
Trump, who is seeking another four-year term, was also seen being uncomfortable to drink water from a glass, which he held with both hands, during his speech delivered in the graduation ceremony at the prestigious US Military Academy. The Lincoln Project, part of the effort by the so-called ‘Never Trumpers’ to push the president out of the White House, also highlighted the incident under an attack ad with the theme #TrumpIsNotWell.
Trump says he's four years younger than Biden
A comparison between the ages of Trump and his likely Democratic opponent in this year’s presidential election, Joe Biden, was also not far off. When Bender remarked that Trump may be under fire for his health since his campaign attacked Biden in a similar manner, the president said: “'Well, I'm four years younger. But no, it's not Biden's age, I know people that are much older than me. And they're sharp as they were when they were 25. I know a man who's 92, is 100 percent sharp.” The Republican also pointed to old but prominent Republicans, including mega donor Sheldon Adelson, aged 86.
Biden will turn 78 this November. During the interview, Trump also cited an op-ed piece in The Washington Post that was more sympathetic towards him, saying the entire episode was about media bias and not the president’s health. “It wasn't his health, it was politics,” the president said, repeating what the piece’s writer Henry Olsen said.