At the Turning Point Action convention in Detroit, Donald Trump suggested Joe Biden should take a cognitive test, only to confuse who administered the test to him.
apnews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Donald Trump on Saturday night suggested President
Joe Biden “should have to take a cognitive test,” only to confuse who administered the test to him in the next sentence.
The former president and presumptive Republican nominee referred to Texas Republican Rep.
Ronny Jackson, who was the White House physician for part of his presidency, as “Ronny Johnson.” The moment came as Trump was questioning Biden’s mental acuity, something he often does on the campaign trail and social media.
“He doesn’t even know what the word ‘inflation’ means. I think he should take a cognitive test like I did,” the former president said of Biden during a
speech at a convention of Turning Point Action in Detroit.
Seconds later, he continued, “Doc Ronny Johnson. Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor, and he said I was the healthiest president, he feels, in history, so I liked him very much indeed immediately.”
Jackson was elected to Congress in 2021 and is one of Trump’s most vociferous defenders on Capitol Hill.
Trump, who turned 78 on Friday, has made questioning whether the 81-year-old Biden is up for a second term a centerpiece of his campaign. But online critics quickly seized on his Saturday night gaffe, with the Biden campaign — which has long fought off criticism about the
Democratic president’s verbal missteps — posting a clip of the moment minutes later.
Emphasis added because this has so many layers. When I was growing up, we trusted doctors. I knew my grandma's doctor...he made house calls. My mom was a medical transcriptionist when she went back to work, and still speaks fondly of the doctors she worked for.
Yet doctors can be fallible, as evidenced by this guy. You'd think that the doctor charged with taking care of the President of the United States would be the most competent of physicians. You'd also kind of expect them to give the President a clean bill of health even if there were some concerns (because...reasons), but ole' Doc Ronny proudly declared that Trump was likely to live to 200. Not "given his age, he's in surprisingly good shape," but rather "OMG this guy could probably win the Boston Marathon, scale Mt. Everest, and land on the Moon if we just put him on a rocket."
Telling a white lie about the President's health is to be expected, but Doc Ronny told a whopper for the ages. Then he parlayed that fame into a seat in Congress. Medical malfeasance is the road to power, apparently.
Then his most famous patient forgot his name.
I'm really looking forward to the debate 10 days from now. If it happens, that is. Microphones muted except for the allotted time, no studio audience, no help from staffers, and only a pen, paper, and water bottle at the podiums. If Fragilego Mussolini doesn't bail, it has the makings of an epic shit show. Is Biden old? Yes, but he's probably spending hours over the next week or so preparing. Going over talking points. Going through mock debates. Memorizing his quaint stories about Corn Pop and that time he threw down with the cops at the 68 Chicago Democratic convention. Meanwhile, Trump is taking the notes his staffers hand him and throwing them in the trash, confident in his ability as a "stable genius" to debate "Crooked Joe" one more time.
