Did Donald Trump just suffer a stroke?
I’m not a medical professional, and this is not intended as any sort of professional diagnosis. But based on three separate pieces of evidence which emerged yesterday, I feel compelled to ask the question – in all seriousness – of whether Donald Trump may have suffered a minor stroke yesterday. I’m going to lay this out because I’m hoping the appropriate medical professional will weigh in and let us know what we’re really looking at here.
Let me be as clear as possible about this as well: I criticize Trump on a daily basis. I make fun of him regularly. But I would not suggest that he may have had a stroke without legitimate reason for bringing up the question. So let’s take a look at yesterday’s evidence. First we had what’s come to be known as “DentureGate” when Trump began slurring his words in the middle of a speech. Many believed his dentures (if he wears them) had come loose, preventing him from being able to speak. Some thought he was high on drugs. But it’s roughly the kind of behavior you’d see from a recent minor stroke victim.
I don’t think he had a stroke during the speech. We would have seen more real-time symptoms playing out. But it is worth pointing out that Trump didn’t post any tweets of his own on Tuesday or Wednesday. As I’ve previously documented, there were a handful of promotional tweets posted by staffers, but nothing from Trump himself. Initially I thought he was just shell shocked from the mounting evidence in the Russia scandal. But when you consider that he’s begun slurring his words at the same time he’s stopped tweeting, it makes you wonder if he may have indeed suffered a medical calamity. So let’s take a look at that third piece of evidence from yesterday.
It was political pundit John Aravosis who documented a noticeable change in Donald Trump’s signature when he signed the executive order at the end of his speech. He appeared to be struggling to sign his name, and sure enough, his signature has suffered. This was at the same time he was slurring his words, and in the midst of an incredibly rare multi-day absence from Twitter. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Trump, if he’s suffered a stroke, we need to know. We need a professional medical diagnosis, and we need it right now. The 25th Amendment exists for a reason.
