Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University and cardiologist to the late former Vice President Dick Cheney, thinks something is up with current President Donald Trump’s health.
In an op-ed published this week in The New York Times, Reiner outlined his concerns regarding he concerns about Trump, who turned 80 this summer. He also highlighted Cheney’s efforts to disclose his medical issues, including the former vice president’s need for stents, a defibrillator and medical treatment for an arrhythmia and a blood clot in his leg.
“After the defibrillator was implanted in his chest in 2001, he would frequently show visitors to his West Wing office a sample device provided to him by the manufacturer,” said Reiner in the op-ed.
Previously, the doctor expressed concerns about what he called Trump’s apparent “daytime somnolence,” or episodes of allegedly falling asleep in public. Audacy covered those comments here.
This week Reiner’s complaints included those same concerns about daytime somnolence and more, citing reports from Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella. He also mentioned the fact that Barbabella’s recent report stated that “the president was evaluated by 22 consultants, an extraordinary number of specialists,” another curious instance of the number “22” being used by the Trump camp.
Reiner’s list also included: Trump’s hand bruising, which made headlines last month when he attended the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Turkey and has been explained by his team as a side effect of aspirin use; the president’s leg swelling that has been linked to chronic venous insufficiency; an October appointment for advanced imaging of his heart and abdomen at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; the lack of mention of the drug finasteride, which prevents hair loss, on his recent medical report while it was on previous ones and questions about cognitive testing.
“The president has spoken about how well he performs on cognitive testing. However, the exam that Mr. Trump describes, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, is a brief and basic screening tool, with simple questions (draw a clock, identify a camel), often performed in response to a concern from the patient or a member of the family,” said Reiner. “Why has the president undergone this test numerous times, and have there been more sophisticated neurocognitive assessments performed?”
In addition to his list, Reiner said that he simply thinks Trump “has not looked well,” at times over the past year, though the White House maintains that the president is in good health. However, Reiner did note that Trump is “probably the most photographed president in American history, and a variety of physical ailments are easy to see.”
He also acknowledged that there is no formal requirement for presidents to certify their fitness for duty (though Reiner believes that is a mistake), just a precedent established by former President Richard Nixon. Other presidents, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, hid medical truths from the public and Trump’s immediate predecessor, former President Joe Biden, has been accused of hiding his medical condition from the public while in office.
“Members of the military, Secret Service agents, commercial pilots, school bus drivers and air traffic controllers all must periodically demonstrate that they are well enough to perform their work,” said Reiner. “The current practice of reporting the results of a yearly medical examination for the president began in the Nixon administration, but it’s only a custom, not a formal obligation. And, as history has shown, it can be unreliable.”
Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) introduced a bill to create a congressional commission to establish a panel to assess presidential health and fitness, Reiner noted. He said that commission would be able to answer some of his questions about Trump if it existed.
In response to Reiner’s questions, the White House provided a quote to The Independent.
“If it quacks like a duck, it may actually just be a Democrat hack doctor,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history and any so-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they’ve sworn to.”
