Why Trump Is Right To Worry About That Glass of Water

[babylonsister]

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/06/14/trump-right-worry-glass-of-water-318695


Why Trump Is Right To Worry About That Glass of Water
Even if it’s baseless and unfair, few things stick to a modern president like images of physical frailty.
By JEFF GREENFIELD
06/14/2020 06:17 PM EDT
Jeff Greenfield is a five-time Emmy-winning network television analyst and author.


What to call it—“Photo-oops”? “Glass of Watergate?”

Whatever the label, when the videos appeared on Saturday of President Trump shuffling down that ramp at West Point, a general walking attentively by his side, and using two hands to guide a water glass to his lips, the response on liberal Twitter threatened to deplete America’s Strategic Schadenfreude Reserve.

The same man who ran for office by mocking the height and stamina of his rivals, who celebrates dominance as the cardinal virtue of leadership, whose 2016 campaign compiled similar slips by Hillary Clinton into a dark TV commercial accusing her of lacking the strength to serve as president, found himself looking like a longtime resident of Shady Grove Home For the Weary.

The images led to some elaborate online speculations and diagnoses, and for Trump, the attention clearly struck a nerve. Why else would the president take to Twitter to offer the excuse that the ramp was “very slippery” (a claim that a New York Times story labeled highly dubious)?

He might well be revealing his own insecurities. But he’s also right about one important thing: just how damaging such a picture of weakness can be. It may sound trivial, and it’s often unfair, but when a modern president, or even a candidate, exhibits physical weakness, it comes with a political cost.

snip//

Yes, it may seem absurd to argue that in a time of pandemic, economic catastrophe, demands for racial justice, and a president often at war with the norms of a Constitutional republic, that a couple of video images should really preoccupy either the president or his critics. But Donald Trump has a native instinct for knowing what matters—not what the pundits say, or what civics classes tell you, but what really sticks with people. And history says he’s right to be concerned about this one.

[flor-de-jasmim]

1. hunh - I thought you were going to say he should be worried about the H2O because of lax EPA regul.!

[Zoonart]

2. The bully who has shown absolutely no compassion for ANYONE

will find that he gets none.

My father began to show signs of dementia in his mid sixties. He flew into unprovoked rages and was paranoid that everyone and anyone was "out to get him". His language changed and he began yo get lost in the little town that he had spent his entire life in. He began to show the physical signs in his early seventies became unsure of his footing...falling (three times) and had several mini strokes or TIA's about the same time.

As a primary care giver, I did extensive reading on this subject and I see all of this in tRump. If he were not such an awful excuse for a human, I would feel sorry for him.

No one does... not even his monsterous children.

I really think that this is why he spends so much time in the residence and rarely comes down to the oval. He needs to be controlled.... all the time. Every time they put him in front of a camera they are taking a chance.

Without a cane, which I know they cannot get him to use (and they cannot let him be seen using one anyway.)... he will face
plant soon. I am convinced that he uses oxygen in the residence. He probably has it available backstage at his events or in his car and on Airforce One.

Is there no way that the Congress can insist that he have a independent physical and mental eval?

He is not a well man.

[dalton99a]

7. +1. Worse, all he does is punch down and attack people

[Scarsdale]

18. That was grotesque.

He has no human qualities. He is a big, bloated empty shell.

[Cha]

3. It is Not "trivial" or "unfair" with Impeached45... he's

earned every derisive reply to his #WaterGait

Yeah, it's not going away nor should it. He's brought every dark thought about him on himself.

Not so long ago he wanted the big photo OP of the "Bible" raised up in the air.. like it was suppose to mean something after tear-gassing & shooting rubber bullets at the peaceful protesters, so he and his henchmen could walk across the street.

trump screwed up both photo ops.

[dalton99a]

6. +1

[Cha]

8. LOL! trump's ******* KARMA is

the WORST!

I don't laugh at things like this Except if it's about when BLOTUS despicably Mocked the disabled reporter and it's Now Coming BACK to BITE him.

[keithbvadu2]

16. On sale now at the Trump campaign website.

Well, it should be.

[LiberalArkie]

17. I think he in not able to judge distance either. And has little strength in arms. May have really

bad vision problems, especially pop close. He has to use both hands to steady the glass or bottle up close.

[Fritz Walter]

22. Or he could wear one of these

All it needs is a MAGA or KAG logo and it would serve three purposes for this coward:

1. Cover up the dead animal on his scalp, especially in windy weather;
2. Deliver dietCoke to his facial anus; and
3. Raise money from the MAGAts who are so keen to emulate him.

[BrightKnight]

32. Give bunker boy a Sippy cup and lock the Whitehouse baby gate.

He’ll be fine until someone can find him a child proof ICE cage.

[ffr]

14. Encore!

I the back of my head, I have to wonder if this is somehow tRump's plan B. If he's destined to lose the election, why not kill two birds with one stone. He could use his dementia as an excuse to install Pence, thus preserving him from going to prison for the rest of his God forsaken miserable life, but also giving McConnell a chance to retain a rePutican in the WH.

The day those three pass will be a day for the whole World to rejoice!

[FakeNoose]

4. If he has so little control over his wrist and forearm

... how is he able to tweet all day long?

Some days he issues 50 or more tweets within a few hours. All I can think is that he's dictating his tweets to another person (Hope Hicks maybe?) and someone else is doing most of the typing. Another possibility is that none of those tweets are his.

[Cirque du So-What]

10. Speech-to-text?

Mush-mouthed pronunciation and lazy proofreading may account for the tweeting gaffes.

[Scarsdale]

19. How does he swing a golf club?

Many of us had to give up golfing, because our strength was depleted. Not enough strength to swing.

[Cirque du So-What]

28. I haven't seen a recent swing

That may tell us a lot.

[Kali]

20. speaking personally

it may just be problematic at certain angles, or even just happens intermittently. I sometimes get a catch in my thumbs or shoulder that can cause me to drop a glass or not be able to lift something until I "rearrange" whatever is going on with joints/tendons/whatever.

[dalton99a]

5. Unfair, my ass

[Buns_of_Fire]

9. He just didn't want to risk spilling one delicious drop of his Trump Vodka.

Yes, I know what he says about drinking.

[olegramps]

11. Trump is just a doddering old brain dead fool. His worshipers are even in worse shape.

I am in my 80's and really wish that we had a younger person ready for the presidency. I am an Independent and support Biden but think that a younger person would be a better choice. The problem with far too many people who strongly identify with a party, especially the Republicans, who have the mentality of saying, yeah, I know he or she is a lousy bastard, but they are my bastard and will continue the destruction of good government by electing horrible candidates. Trump is a prime example along with the majority of Republican legislators from local, and state to federal offices to the Supreme Court. It is a major problem and not one that will be easily rectified. It is rarity to hear any Republican openly condemn even the most corrupt and incompetent fellow Republican.

[nevergiveup]

25. "doddering old brain dead fool"

a perfect description

[ffr]

12. You're dead to me Politico. "Liberal Twitter?"

Fuck you with your projectionist bullshit.

I see this skewing of the words throughout media copy. It's bullshit. Just report what it is, in this case it's Twitter, not liberal Twitter, not progressive Twitter, just Twitter. For fuck sake!

It's only Monday and I'm already angry!!!

[babylonsister]

23. I read that differently.

I imagine he meant the liberals who post on twitter vs. the conservatives/rethugs who would not criticize his appearance or obvious weaknesses.

[BamaRefugee]

29. Same here

[FakeNoose]

38. It's the "liberals" who need to be muffled, not Twitter

... Twitter is fine as long as conserva-turds are allowed to do all the tweeting.

That's how I'm reading the comment.

[Wounded Bear]

13. Thus the continuing attacks on Biden for his "fitness" and health...

they're projecting again.

I've seen countless attacks on Biden, citing things like slurred speech, difficulty with words, his phisical condition, etc. All RW projections of Trump's frailties onto Biden. It has toned down a little, maybe, because it wasn't working, but I expect more to come.

[ToxMarz]

15. A true self own. How could this have possibly been avoided?

By not forcing cadets back to the academy amid a pandemic for show and sticking to a safe video commencement address as expected. But he had to appear "tough". How's that working out for him.

[certainot]

21. americans haven't learned yet - it doesn't matter! as long as they have 1500 radio stations

repeating in chorus for as long as it takes that biden this or hillary that, with no challenge or context, it doesn't fucking matter what republicans do!

if limbaugh and sons don't chew and rechew it for weeks and instead just ignore it it will eventually fade away, just like everything else these orange assholes do

[Evolve Dammit]

26. Yep.

[malaise]

24. Shady Grove Home For the Weary.

[LeftInTX]

39. I know..

Should we call him that?

[mozan]

27. new rule..

I vote we call it the "Two handed lip dribble" no traveling allowed.

[UTUSN]

30. *Pines*, it's Shady PINES (not "Grove"), Jeff (who I thought was already there)!1

[ornotna]

31. tRump's not used to bringing his hands that close to his face.

Muscle memory only allows his hands to get as far as a McD's 32oz diet coke with a straw in it.

[Blue Owl]

33. Floptics

Fuck him and his fucking "optics"

[blitzen]

34. Cringe- and puke-inducing phrase: "Trump has a native instinct for knowing what matters"

Yeah, we get the point that this means "what matters for successful demagoguery"--but any inkling of a qualifier comes way too late in that sentence.

[kentuck]

35. It was devastating!

And they all know it.

The question is: Do Democrats know it?

[mnmoderatedem]

36. I keep thinking of Hillary almost collapsing getting into that vehicle during the campaign

due to nothing more than temporary illness and exhaustion. And the hay that was made out of that by conservatives. Guliani could not stop exploiting it.

Karma.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. K&R