The media needs to demand that Donald Trump release his test results for Alzheimer’s disease

On Sunday, the Washington Post‘s latest exposé on Donald Trump’s foundation was How Donald Trump retooled his charity to spend other people’s money: “Trump had found a way to give away somebody else’s money and claim the credit for himself.”

Did anyone in the media report on this latest scandal? No, of course not.

Hillary Clinton stumbled after feeling overheated and suffering from a recent bout of pneumonia at the 9/11 Remembrance in New York, and the media went into a “shark week” feeding frenzy providing an echo chamber for right-wing conspiracy theories based upon fake medical records circulating on conservative Internet websites, and Fox News’ Sean Hannity, a Trump campaign adviser, having recently played footage of Clinton vigorously shaking her head to avoid answering a question from her press corps that he said was “seizure-esque.” This prompted one of the reporters who witnessed the incident to publish a response knocking down Hannity’s false claim. Clinton cancels trip to California after ‘overheating’ spell, pneumonia diagnosis.

The elite elitist Beltway media villagers who travel with the campaigns were upset that they were not immediately informed of Clinton’s illness because they should always be consulted first before the doctor — after all, they are Gods dontcha know, and they will determine who will be president of the United States with their narrative reporting. Hillary Clinton has not been quick to share health information, and Clinton aide says, ‘We could have done better,’ amid criticism over health disclosures.

It apparently never occurs to these elitist pricks that their over-the-top “shark week” feeding frenzy coverage on Sunday is why the candidates are not inclined to share every intimate detail of their life with them.

So we wind up with horseshit narrative reporting like this from Susan Page at USA Today. For Hillary Clinton, some terrible horrible, no good, very bad days:

For the Democratic presidential nominee, it has been what the children’s book might have called a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad string of days.

What makes the distressing video particularly damaging politically is that it fuels questions that Trump and such leading surrogates as former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani have been pressing about her stamina.

Previously dismissed by critics as unfounded and sexist, those comments now have gained enough currency that Clinton will face escalating demands to release her health records, regardless of whether Trump releases his.

What makes the delay in disclosing she had been diagnosed with pneumonia damaging is that it reinforces doubts about her transparency, about playing it straight with the people whose support she is seeking. A majority of voters already say she is not honest and trustworthy, although they also say that about her opponent.

To which I reply, bullshit lady!  Donald Trump has not disclosed any of his medical records, and the ridiculous note from his gastroenterologist was prepared under duress in less than five minutes, under the watchful eye of the Trump campaign. Trump Doctor Wrote Health Letter in Just 5 Minutes as Limo Waited.

Now, Trump told FAUX News today that he will release this week results of an examination that he had done last week. Trump to release ‘very, very specific’ health information this week.

The media has an obligation to demand that Trump release any tests he has had done for Alzheimer’s disease, and if he has not had any testing done, that he do so.

“The Donald’s”  father, Fred Trump, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for six years before he died from pneumonia at the age of 93. New York Times obituary. There are blood tests to detect Alzheimer’s disease a full decade earlier than the onset of symptoms with 100% accuracy. Blood Test Detects Onset of Alzheimer’s a Decade Early.

It turns out that “The Donald” will be appearing on the Dr. Oz Show for a one-on-one interview this Thursday, no doubt timed to discuss the release of his “very, very specific” health information this week.

It just so happens that Dr. Oz is doing an episode on Tuesday about The Ultimate Alzheimer’s Prevention Guide: Your Alzheimer’s Defense Plan, so it should be fresh in his mind to ask Trump about his family history of Alzheimers disease, whether he has been tested, and whether he will release the results of his tests.

If Dr. Oz fails to do this, he is every bit the TV charlatan that the research says he is. Study: More than half the medical advice on Dr. Oz lacks proof or contradicts best available science.

One reporter who has raised this issue is Kurt Eichewald at Newsweek. Donald Trump Tests Positive for Everything, According to His Doctor:

Family history is critical in understanding possible diseases that may emerge, particularly those with a genetic link. Trump’s father, Fred Trump, died from complications of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. That condition, which is the most common form of Alzheimer’s, emerges in people in their mid-60s or later. Trump is 70.

There is a genetic component to the disease. Risk increases when a person has a particular type of apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene on the 19th chromosome. The type of APOE gene a person has is testable. Has Dr. Bornstein, the gastroenterologist, tested for it? If not, why not? Is that why Trump has avoided seeing an internist, since they would conduct such a test? Such a test might reveal that Trump is unfit for office since dementia, unlike epilepsy, could damage a president’s ability to think coherently.

Moreover, people have been suggesting that they may have seen symptoms of Alzheimer’s in Trump’s behavior. Yes, I am using Trump argument style of “people say,” but I’m going to help you identify the people. Type “Trump and Alzheimer’s” into Google and lots of articles and online comments pop up pointing out behaviors of Trump’s that are consistent with Alzheimer’s: meandering speech, poor self-control, not properly responding to questions that are asked, erratic behavior.

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So if conservatives want to keep pushing their “Clinton’s health” conspiracy theory, even though they have a full assessment of her medical status from her doctor, then I’m going to keep demanding that Trump release a letter from a real internist that has real medical tests and results for Alzheimer’s.

We have already had one president that we know of who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, Ronald Reagan. An “analysis found that during his two terms in office, subtle changes in Mr. Reagan’s speaking patterns linked to the onset of dementia were apparent years before doctors diagnosed his Alzheimer’s disease in 1994.” Parsing Ronald Reagan’s Words for Early Signs of Alzheimer’s:

The findings, published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease by researchers at Arizona State University, do not prove that Mr. Reagan exhibited signs of dementia that would have adversely affected his judgment and ability to make decisions in office.

But the research does suggest that alterations in speech one day might be used to predict development of Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions years before symptoms are clinically perceptible.

If the elite elitist Beltway media villagers insist on knowing every intimate detail of a candidate’s health, then I suggest that you start asking the right questions of Donald Trump.