Speculation over Trump's health after ‘dragging’ right leg video: ‘What is wrong with him?’
Donald Trump’s mental and physical fitness is once again a topic of conversation on the president’s favorite social media platform.
In November, there was widespread speculation after Trump made an unscheduled trip to Walter Reed Hospital.
In June, the hashtag #TrumpIsNotWell trended nationwide on Twitter after Trump struggled to drink from a glass of water and walk down a ramp.
And Trump has spent multiple days in July bragging about acing a test to check for mental decline.
On Tuesday, the conversation continued after video of Trump’s Monday visit to North Carolina showed a peculiar gait, with the commander-in-chief swinging his foot sideways in a sweeping motion.
Comments:"He’s been dragging it for weeks. Likely connected to his emergency trip to Bethesda. Stroke?"
"As a physcial therapist, I can tell you this gait pattern is exhibiting weakness in the right dorsiflexors and right hip flexors, creating the need to circumduct his leg to clear the floor. This is typical of someone with residual effects from a mild stroke."
"Something is wrong with Trump's right leg. I'm not kidding. This is a CNN video from yesterday. Look at his leg, it's malfunctioning. What is wrong with him, and why are we not being told the truth about Trump's health?"
https://twitter.com/CNNNewsource/status/1288007359751757824"He likely has Lewy Body dementia, a very specific form of it which involves both mental & physical deterioration simultaneously. It explains the weird body jerks/ticks @realDonaldTrump has had the past several yrs as well as the slurring & disjointed delusional garbage he spews."
"First symptom of dementia with a relative of mine."
"Right arm isnt moving either. Probably wore the mask to cover his drooping mouth."
"Ah whats goin on w Gumby's right leg. Medical ppl, go...#COVID19"
"I think he had at least a small stroke or something when he went unexpectedly to Walter Reed Hospital for part of his “physical”. And dementia."
"He is in severe decline, watch his right leg, the way he twitches when he is talking. Remove him now."
"Residual from stroke. He has mild hemiparesis (right sided weakness). Same with his walk down the ramp leading with the left all the time and drinking from the glass of water, his left hand came up to assist the right one."
"Same side he had trouble with while drinking water and when he walked down the ramp the right side was the weak side....."
"I have been pointing out the deficits in his right leg for months. Of course it could be nerve damage to that leg but because he shows other signs involving other extremities/balance, I lean towards neuro disease/injury."
Trump campaign masked $170 million in ‘illegal’ payments: watchdog
A nonprofit transparency watchdog filed a complaint Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) accusing President Donald Trump’s campaign and joint fundraising committee of laundering nearly $170 million through firms belonging to former campaign manager Brad Parscale and campaign lawyers.
The complaint accuses the Trump campaign of diverting money through two companies, American Made Media and Parscale Strategy, in order to hide the destinations for millions of dollars in payments. Parscale, who has been accused of “milking” Trump “like a cow,” was demoted earlier this month amid flagging poll numbers and several unforced errors.
The campaign allegedly used the same scheme to cover up previously reported payments to Trump family members and associates such as Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle — both of whom work for the campaign.
“This scheme is illegal,” Brendan Fischer, Director of the CLC Federal Reform Program, told Salon.
The names of a number of campaign vendors identified in previous reporting do not appear in the campaign’s FEC filings. Instead, it appears that the campaign reports its payments to American Made Media, a company created by Trump campaign officials, which then moves the funds to third-party vendors, according to the complaint.
For instance, reports indicate that the Trump campaign contracted with Realtime Media and Opn Sesame. Both are headed by Gary Coby, the campaign’s digital director. However, neither firm appears in the campaign’s filings.
The CLC also claims that it uncovered Federal Communications Commission records showing that Trump campaign ads are placed by Harris Sikes Media, but the campaign has not reported any payments to the firm during this election cycle.
While it is not unusual for campaigns to omit some third-party vendor payments — such as a media company subcontracting a videographer — Fischer called these instances “a well-orchestrated scheme designed to undermine laws and transparency requirements.”
“Trump took it to another level,” Fischer said. “Those recipients weren’t simply sub-vendors. They didn’t take directions from Parscale’s companies. They took directions directly from the Trump campaign. They worked for the Trump campaign, and the campaign tried to hide it.”
The Trump campaign also reports paying approximately $48,000 a month for “strategy consulting” to Parscale Strategy, the consulting firm founded by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. Multiple media reports say that Parscale Strategy itself is a conduit for salary payments to Lara Trump and Guilfoyle, though those salaries combined account for only $30,000 a month.
“The big problem is we can’t know how much was spent and where it was spent,” Fischer said. “For instance, the campaign could be covering up unlawful coordination with independent groups, such as super PACs and dark money organizations. It’s illegal to use common vendors, and we don’t know.”
“Or take the example of Cambridge Analytica from 2016,” he said. “We might not know whether the campaign is working with a potentially problematic digital operation.”
Fischer listed a number of other examples, such as additional payments to the Trump Organization or other Trump-linked entities.
“This campaign has a history of keeping certain transactions off the books,” he said, pointing to the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels which landed former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen behind bars. “What else isn’t being disclosed? We don’t know, and Trump’s donors don’t know how their money is being spent.”
However, the mystery won’t be solved any time soon. Fischer speculates that the FEC won’t be able to fully unravel all of the issues until 2022 or 2023.
"Complaints this complicated usually remain pending for two to three years,” he said.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/trump-campaign-masked-170-million-in-illegal-payments-watchdog/Trump storms out after CNN's Kaitlan Collins puts him to shame for promoting a quack doctor
Donald Trump abruptly ended his press briefing on Tuesday when CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins pressed him on his promotion of a quack doctor’s dangerous claims about COVID-19.
On Monday night, Trump shared a video of the doctor who falsely claimed hydroxychloroquine is a “cure” for COVID-19 and that it obviated the need to wear masks or undertake other mitigation measures during the pandemic. Some of her claims were clearly wrong on their face — it’s important to reduce the risk of catching diseases even if we have a cure for them — and top experts argue that the evidence continues to give little indication that hydroxychloroquine is effective against the virus. The video Trump shared was so dangerously wrong that social media platforms began removing it.
Subsequent reporting revealed that the doctor in the video is a complete quack — she has previously promoted claims about alien DNA and demon sperm.
“The woman that you said is a ‘great doctor’ in that video that you retweeted last night said that masks don’t work and there’s a cure for COVID-19, both of which experts say is not true,” Collins told Trump during the evening briefing. “She’s also made videos saying that doctors make medicine using DNA from aliens and that they’re trying to make a vaccine to make you immune from becoming religious. So, what’s the logic in retweeting that?”
Trump shook his head and looked down.
“I can tell you this,” he said. “She was on air with many other doctors. They were big fans of hydroxychloroquine. And I thought she was very impressive in the sense that where she came — I don’t know what country she comes from — but she’s said that she’s had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients. And I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her.”
Trump tried to move on to another reporter, but Collins had a follow-up. As she tried to cut in, he clearly grew annoyed. He decided to give up on getting a question from another reporter, said only, ‘Thank you very much, everybody,” and quickly left the room.
Watch the exchange below:
