For almost an hour on Tuesday, the White House press corps stooped to a new low of embarrassment and clownishly liberal behavior, lobbing over a dozen questions at Navy Rear Admiral Dr. Ronny Jackson to insinuate that President Trump must be mentally ill to the point of Alzheimer’s Disease. This was all despite Jackson’s insistence that he’s in great health.
Whether it was Bloomberg, CBS News Radio, CNN, or The Washington Post, the long knives were out as the liberal media engaged in their own Pickett’s Charge to save their narrative that Trump’s mentally ill and thus must be removed via Congress or the 25th Amendment.
NBC’s Hallie Jackson started the crazy train with the second question, asking Dr. Jackson to repeat the results about “the President’s mental fitness” and alluded to Trump’s tweet about him being “a stable genius.”
Bloomberg’s Shannon Pettypiece brought up the media-obsession over Trump supposedly slurring his words, but ABC’s Cecilia Vega spoke moments later with this bewildering question:
Could you just elaborate in layman's terms, if possible, and you’ve done a great job at that, what you ruled out in these cognitive tests? You know, there have been reports the president has forgotten names, that he’s repeating himself. Are you ruling out things like early onset Alzheimer's? Are you looking at dementia-like symptoms?
Dr. Jackson hit back, noting that Trump’s cognitive test was the same one that’s often used at Walter Reed (the Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and since “the President got 30 out of 30 on that exam, I think that, you know, there's no indication that he has any kind of cognitive issues.”
CBS News Radio correspondent Steven Portnoy brought up the 25th Amendment, gushing over how “[a] lot of people in the country have been talking about it” and after explaining it in some detail, asked about what point from a “philosophical” standpoint would he “advise the cabinet that the president is unable to discharge his duties.”
Ridiculous figure and CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta then arrived on scene:
JIM ACOSTA: Just to make sure we're clear on this. When you analyzed his cognitive ability or his neurological functions, that's not the same thing as a psychiatric exam or psychological exam?
JACKSON: It is not. No. It’s a screening assessment for cognitive impairment.
Roughly five minutes after The Washington Post’s Ashley Parker inquired about the particular test that Trump took, CBS’s Margaret Brennan trampled on Ronald Reagan’s memory by hinting that he had Alzheimer’s while President and was missed. And thus, White House physicians might not be trustworthy:
Doctor, when you say given the President's age, he is somewhere where President Reagan was at this time in presidency. Can you say, given the scrutiny of what was overlooked at the time with President Reagan in terms of Alzheimer's and things he was then-known to suffer from at a later date, Can you say whether the test that's you ran would exclude any of those things? And what the possibility of overlooking something like that would be? You know, how can you tell the American people that this time you're certain?
Portnoy returned and this left the calm Jackson perturbed:
PORTNOY: What is your take of all the doctors and clinicians all across the country who have said, in this President, they see symptoms of this, that and the other?
JACKSON: Symptoms in what way?
PORTNOY: Symptoms of dementia, symptoms of —
JACKSON: I would say that, you know, the American Psychiatric Association has said so, too. You know, I would think that, you know, the people shouldn't be making the assessments about the President unless they've had the opportunity to get to know him and examine him and, you know, in my opinion, that's just tabloid psychiatry and I just don’t — you know, I'm not going to address it or fall into responding to those questions or accusations.
Near the end, an unidentified reporter seemed to lobby for there to be (if there wasn’t already) a White House psychologist should be around for the sake of Trump while CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta fretted that the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was insufficient for spotting dementia or mental illnesses in someone “who’s already highly functioning.”
Here’s the relevant transcript from January 16's White House Press Briefing:
White House Press Briefing
January 16, 2018
3:44 p.m. EasternHALLIE JACKSON: Two questions for you. Number one, there have been some questions as part of your exam, I’m wondering if you’ve talked to the President about this, whether the President’s mental fitness. He has pushed back on that, calling himself a stable genius. Can you establish the President’s mental fitness for us?
(....)
SHANNON PETTYPIECE: Yes, there was an incident recently where the President appeared to slur his words while giving an address. Did you look into what the cause of that might have been at all?
(....)
CECILIA VEGA: Could you just elaborate in layman's terms, if possible, and you’ve done a great job at that, what you ruled out in these cognitive tests? You know, there have been reports the president has forgotten names, that he’s repeating himself. Are you ruling out things like early onset Alzheimer's? Are you looking at dementia-like symptoms? And then a second question, a lot of doctors at the back end of a physical like to give their patients tips before they walk out the door, things that they should change in terms of lifestyle or behavior. What did you tell this president outside of diet that he might want to change?
DR. RANDY JACKSON: Yes, so I think that cognitive test, you know, it’s well respected. It is a test that is used throughout the United States. Lots and lots of institutions use that test. It is the one that they use at Walter Reed for the patients they feel they need to do cognitive screens on. So, it’s a universally-accepted test. Like I said, it is a little more extensive than some of the shorter ones that are in some of the guidelines, but yea, it screens for all those things. Any time of cognitive issues, Alzheimer's and all those other things. So, you know, the fact the President got 30 out of 30 on that exam, I think that, you know, there's no indication that he has any kind of cognitive issues. On a day-to-day basis, like I said before, it’s been my experience that the President, you know, is very sharp. Very articulate when he speaks to me and, you know, I've never known him to repeat himself around me. He says what he’s got to say and he speaks his mind. And I found no reason whatsoever to think that the President has — yeah, I found no reason to think that the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought process.
(....)
STEVEN PORTNOY: If I might ask a question and pause on the philosophy on the fitness of a president, the 25th amendment. A lot of people in the country have been talking about it. It basically contemplates that a group of Senate-confirmed laymen will weigh on whether the President is able to discharge the duties of the office. You, as the President’s physician, have certainly given this some thought over the year that you’ve been on your role. On what base I would you, this is a philosophical question, advise the cabinet that the president is unable to discharge his duties? How does that bar get met?
(....)
JIM ACOSTA: Just to make sure we're clear on this. When you analyzed his cognitive ability or his neurological functions, that's not the same thing as a psychiatric exam or psychological exam?
JACKSON: It is not. No. It’s a screening assessment for cognitive impairment.
(....)
ASHLEY PARKER: You mentioned that you gave the President will a cognitive test. Was that the mini-mental state examination or [INAUDIBLE]? Or if not, could you tell us what specific cognitive test you gave him.
JACKSON: It was. It was the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, sometimes we refer to it as the MOCA and you can find it online.
(....)
ACOSTA: One follow-up question. There isn't anything that's part of the President's health records or his overall physical fitness or any medications that he's taking that you're not permitted to tell us? Is there anything you're keeping from us for privacy reasons?
JACKSON: I can promise there is nothing that I am withholding from you and I can tell you that, you know, I've done the last four or five of these. I've been involved in probably the last six or seven of these and this is hands down more information that’s been put forth by any other assessment to date. I was, Friday was good day for me. Friday made today exceptionally easy for me. So, when we left Friday, it was good for me. It made this much, much easier for me today. So no, I'm not withholding anything and I have reviewed the President's past medical records to the extent they've been made available to me and there is nothing at all concerning to me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Doctor, when you say given the President's age, he is somewhere where President Reagan was at this time in presidency. Can you say, given the scrutiny of what was overlooked at the time with president Reagan in terms of Alzheimer's and things he was then-known to suffer from at a later date, Can you say whether the test that's you ran would exclude any of those things? And what the possibility of overlooking something like that would be? You know, how can you tell the American people that this time you're certain?
JACKSON: I can say that that test, you know, and I don't know President Reagan's actual medical condition and I don't know what his condition was like toward the end of his presidency. I've read things and sustain documentaries and stuff like everybody here. But let's just assume that he did have some, you know, evidence of cognitive impairment toward the end of his presidency. I think that I can reliably say, and I think that the folks in the mental health community out there would back me up on the fact that if he had some type of mental, cognitive issue, that this test is sensitive enough it would pick up on it. He would not have gotten 30 out of 30 on the test. So, I’m very confident at this particular stage that he has nothing like that going on. And, like I said, my personal experience, is that he has absolutely no, you know, cognitive or mental issues whatsoever. That he is very sharp.
(....)
PORTNOY: What is your take of all the doctors and clinicians all across the country who have said, in this President, they see symptoms of this, that and the other?
JACKSON: Symptoms in what way?
PORTNOY: Symptoms of dementia, symptoms of —
JACKSON: I would say that, you know, the American Psychiatric Association has said so, too. You know, I would think that, you know, the people shouldn't be making the assessments about the President unless they've had the opportunity to get to know him and examine him and, you know, in my opinion, that's just tabloid psychiatry and I just don’t — you know, I'm not going to address it or fall into responding to those questions or accusations.
(....)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER #1: Give us an idea of what the cognitive exam involved in that half-hour and does that rule out any further psychological exams?
(....)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER #2: You mentioned a whole bunch of doctors that participated in Friday's exam. And there are other questions today about the President's emotional health. Is there anyone on the President's medical team such as a psychiatrist or a psychologist whose job it is to monitor the President's emotional state or watch for potential psychiatric problems or indicators of those?
(....)
SANJAY GUPTA: Just one more question about the Montreal exam and other sort mini-mental status exam. They're pretty good, but they're not really sensitive for someone who’s already highly functioning. They're not good at finding early stages of dementia. If the President is worried about it, would you recommend more extensive exams?
