Latest news with #Unabomber
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Petition to 'Release Trump's FULL Medical Records' Grows
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. More than 8,000 people have signed a petition calling for President Donald Trump to release all his medical records. On July 17, the White House confirmed Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency following growing concerns about visible swelling in the president's legs and bruises on his hands. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email. Why It Matters Historically, U.S. presidents and presidential candidates have released their medical information to build public trust and reassure voters. The issue has become more urgent as the median age of presidents in the U.S. has risen, with cognitive and physical decline becoming pointed campaign topics. The health of then-President Joe Biden was a major issue before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, with Trump repeatedly questioning whether he was fit for office. What To Know The author of the Care2 petition titled "Release Trump's FULL Medical Records NOW" wrote: "After everyone with eyes was able to plainly see Trump's swollen legs, discolorations, and other troubling symptoms, the White House FINALLY released a snippet of health information—Trump has 'chronic venous insufficiency.' In tones normally reserved for a hangnail, they said this was no big deal, very common, nothing to see here... "Except that this can indicate a very serious heart condition, possibly life-threatening, along with a range of other very dangerous ailments. But we don't have the full records, so we have to take the word of chronic liars. "Add your name, and demand that ALL Trump's medical records be released, as has been common practice for presidents for decades. "This also must include cognitive, memory, and related tests, given the rapidly worsening symptoms Trump has been showing on that front as well (including an utterly bizarre public rant about the Unabomber and Trump's uncle). "This man has his finger on the nuclear button, which is already frightening. But if he's falling apart physically and mentally, that takes it to a whole other level. And we need to know that, so we can act accordingly." The White House announced Trump's diagnosis in a memo from Sean Barbabella, the president's physician. "The president underwent a comprehensive examination, including diagnostic vascular studies. Bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70," the memo said. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said in a news briefing that the president's medical team found "no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease." She said Trump was not in any discomfort with the condition. The diagnosis came after members of the public began questioning photographs showing Trump with heavily swollen ankles. The president's health has long been a subject of public scrutiny, especially given his age. Trump, who turned 79 last month, became the oldest person to be inaugurated president when he began his second term in January. While Trump has released intermittent updates over the years, calls for full transparency have intensified, particularly following then-Vice President Kamala Harris' detailed medical disclosure in October. Trump has shared limited information—including a November 2023 letter from his physician, which describes him as being in "excellent health." The letter cited favorable lab results, weight loss and "exceptional" cognitive performance. However, it lacked specific metrics. The president also scored 30 out of 30 on a Montreal Cognitive Assessment in 2018, according to then-White House physician Ronny Jackson, but no recent cognitive evaluations have been released. His medical history includes high cholesterol, coronary artery disease and a COVID-19 hospitalization in 2020. According to various reports, Trump takes medications for cholesterol, cardiac prevention and rosacea. In 2024, he underwent cataract surgery and a colonoscopy that showed a benign polyp and diverticulitis. President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 18. President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 18. AP What Is Chronic Venous Insufficiency? CVI is a condition in which the veins in the legs are unable to efficiently return blood to the heart. This occurs when the one-way valves inside the leg veins—responsible for keeping blood flowing upward—become damaged or weakened. As a result, blood can pool in the lower extremities, leading to swelling, discomfort and a range of other symptoms. The condition is most often caused by factors such as aging, obesity, prolonged periods of sitting or standing, a history of blood clots (such as deep vein thrombosis), or the presence of varicose veins. Over time, the increased pressure from trapped blood can lead to visible changes in the skin and even open sores, particularly around the ankles. Symptoms of CVI include leg swelling, aching or cramping, heaviness, visible varicose veins, skin discoloration, and in more advanced cases, ulcers around the ankles. These symptoms often worsen after long periods of standing or sitting and improve with leg elevation. President Donald Trump's foot and swollen ankle as he sits with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House on July 16. President Donald Trump's foot and swollen ankle as he sits with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House on July 16. AP What People Are Saying Sean Barbabella, the president's physician, shared the following details from a physical in a memo shown to Newsweek in April: "President Trump remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function. His active lifestyle continues to contribute significantly to his well-being. "President Trump's days include participation in multiple meetings, public appearances, press availability, and frequent victories in golf events. President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State." Then-Vice President Kamala Harris said in October: "I put out my medical records. He won't put out his medical records. And you have to ask, why is this staff doing that? And it may be because they think he's just not ready, and [is] unfit and unstable and should not have that level of transparency for the American people." What Happens Next It remains to be seen how the administration will respond to concerns about Trump's health and the ongoing push for transparency.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: Why MAGA loyalists are abandoning the president
'I can take chicken fertiliser and sell it to 'em for caviar,' he crows, grinning. Trump's Truth Social posts backing up Pam Bondi's claim that the Epstein files were much ado about nothing showed that same brutal disregard for his devout fans. They had taken him seriously ? What fools! He tried to subdue his MAGAcolytes – his 'boys' and 'gals' – by ordering them not to 'waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.' He said that those who are focused on the 'Jeffrey Epstein hoax' are 'selfish people,' 'PAST supporters' and 'weaklings' who had been 'conned by the Lunatic Left.' If his fans couldn't focus on how great he was, better than 'perhaps any President in our Country's history,' Trump pouted in a post, 'I don't want their support anymore!' One 'gal,' a Texan named Rosie, said she was brokenhearted. She replied on Truth Social that she has four daughters and 'can't even begin to comprehend the flipped narrative that 'it was so long ago' 'why are we still talking about this' and 'nobody should care.' These victims were some ones daughters, sisters, nieces, granddaughter. Someone's child. Please reconsider, sir.' Donald and Melania Trump with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2002. Credit: Getty He has lost some of his base's trust by refusing to deliver the goods, or to acknowledge that he used people such as Kash Patel and Dan Bongino to whip up the frenzy against the paedophile who gave rides to Trump and Bill Clinton on his plane dubbed by some the Lolita Express. Trump bonded with Epstein years ago, although it's not clear if Trump knew the extent of Epstein's predations. He told New York Magazine in 2002 that Epstein 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' This past week was the first time Trump had such a dramatic rift with his supporters, who are often compared to a cult. Trump, who rose to power with the help of Fox News, threatened Emma Tucker, editor of Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal , trying to stop its story about a bawdy letter and drawing he allegedly contributed to a 50th birthday book that Ghislaine Maxwell compiled for Epstein. 'I'm gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else,' he said in a call Tuesday with the Journal. (He filed the suit on Friday.) He denied that he ever drew an outline of a naked woman with his name scribbled in a salacious spot, along with writing an insinuating wish to Epstein that 'every day be another wonderful secret.' (What had to be kept secret, Donald?) Loading 'I don't draw pictures,' he wrote on Truth Social, denouncing the 'FAKE letter' in the 'Fake Story.' But Trump's lies – such as the one about his uncle at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Unabomber – are falling apart almost instantaneously. It immediately came out that he was a 'high-profile doodler,' as Tyler Pager put it in The New York Times , and that he donated drawings to charity in the early 2000s. On Thursday, Trump posted that he had asked Bondi to produce 'any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.' But judges usually keep such testimony secret. It was hilarious to see Trump hiding behind the judiciary he has tried to sideline. The president, hoping to redirect the ire of the base back to its favourite chew toy, the mainstream media, posted that the Journal is a 'Disgusting and Filthy Rag.' Natalie Winters, a reporter for Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, told Bannon that the Journal story made her feel 'gaslit' by the administration. 'I thought the DOJ had nothing related to Epstein,' she said. 'Well, this story sort of contradicts that. So why don't we release it? It's maddening.' Twisting conspiracy theories into a Gordian knot of hate, Trump is claiming some Epstein files were 'made up' by Barack Obama, James Comey, 'Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration' and 'Crooked Hillary.' It's tough to blame the deep state when you are the deep state. This article originally appeared in The New York Times .
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump promised to bring down the deep state. To MAGA loyalists, he's joined it
'I can take chicken fertiliser and sell it to 'em for caviar,' he crows, grinning. Trump's Truth Social posts backing up Pam Bondi's claim that the Epstein files were much ado about nothing showed that same brutal disregard for his devout fans. They had taken him seriously? What fools! He tried to subdue his MAGAcolytes – his 'boys' and 'gals' – by ordering them not to 'waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.' He said that those who are focused on the 'Jeffrey Epstein hoax' are 'selfish people,' 'PAST supporters' and 'weaklings' who had been 'conned by the Lunatic Left.' If his fans couldn't focus on how great he was, better than 'perhaps any President in our Country's history,' Trump pouted in a post, 'I don't want their support anymore!' One 'gal,' a Texan named Rosie, said she was brokenhearted. She replied on Truth Social that she has four daughters and 'can't even begin to comprehend the flipped narrative that 'it was so long ago' 'why are we still talking about this' and 'nobody should care.' These victims were some ones daughters, sisters, nieces, granddaughter. Someone's child. Please reconsider, sir.' He has lost some of his base's trust by refusing to deliver the goods, or to acknowledge that he used people such as Kash Patel and Dan Bongino to whip up the frenzy against the paedophile who gave rides to Trump and Bill Clinton on his plane dubbed by some the Lolita Express. Trump bonded with Epstein years ago, although it's not clear if Trump knew the extent of Epstein's predations. He told New York Magazine in 2002 that Epstein 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' This past week was the first time Trump had such a dramatic rift with his supporters, who are often compared to a cult. Trump, who rose to power with the help of Fox News, threatened Emma Tucker, editor of Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal, trying to stop its story about a bawdy letter and drawing he allegedly contributed to a 50th birthday book that Ghislaine Maxwell compiled for Epstein. 'I'm gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else,' he said in a call Tuesday with the Journal. (He filed the suit on Friday.) He denied that he ever drew an outline of a naked woman with his name scribbled in a salacious spot, along with writing an insinuating wish to Epstein that 'every day be another wonderful secret.' (What had to be kept secret, Donald?) Loading 'I don't draw pictures,' he wrote on Truth Social, denouncing the 'FAKE letter' in the 'Fake Story.' But Trump's lies – such as the one about his uncle at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Unabomber – are falling apart almost instantaneously. It immediately came out that he was a 'high-profile doodler,' as Tyler Pager put it in The New York Times, and that he donated drawings to charity in the early 2000s. On Thursday, Trump posted that he had asked Bondi to produce 'any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.' But judges usually keep such testimony secret. It was hilarious to see Trump hiding behind the judiciary he has tried to sideline. The president, hoping to redirect the ire of the base back to its favourite chew toy, the mainstream media, posted that the Journal is a 'Disgusting and Filthy Rag.' Natalie Winters, a reporter for Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, told Bannon that the Journal story made her feel 'gaslit' by the administration. 'I thought the DOJ had nothing related to Epstein,' she said. 'Well, this story sort of contradicts that. So why don't we release it? It's maddening.' Twisting conspiracy theories into a Gordian knot of hate, Trump is claiming some Epstein files were 'made up' by Barack Obama, James Comey, 'Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration' and 'Crooked Hillary.' It's tough to blame the deep state when you are the deep state.
The Age
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Trump promised to bring down the deep state. To MAGA loyalists, he's joined it
'I can take chicken fertiliser and sell it to 'em for caviar,' he crows, grinning. Trump's Truth Social posts backing up Pam Bondi's claim that the Epstein files were much ado about nothing showed that same brutal disregard for his devout fans. They had taken him seriously? What fools! He tried to subdue his MAGAcolytes – his 'boys' and 'gals' – by ordering them not to 'waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.' He said that those who are focused on the 'Jeffrey Epstein hoax' are 'selfish people,' 'PAST supporters' and 'weaklings' who had been 'conned by the Lunatic Left.' If his fans couldn't focus on how great he was, better than 'perhaps any President in our Country's history,' Trump pouted in a post, 'I don't want their support anymore!' One 'gal,' a Texan named Rosie, said she was brokenhearted. She replied on Truth Social that she has four daughters and 'can't even begin to comprehend the flipped narrative that 'it was so long ago' 'why are we still talking about this' and 'nobody should care.' These victims were some ones daughters, sisters, nieces, granddaughter. Someone's child. Please reconsider, sir.' He has lost some of his base's trust by refusing to deliver the goods, or to acknowledge that he used people such as Kash Patel and Dan Bongino to whip up the frenzy against the paedophile who gave rides to Trump and Bill Clinton on his plane dubbed by some the Lolita Express. Trump bonded with Epstein years ago, although it's not clear if Trump knew the extent of Epstein's predations. He told New York Magazine in 2002 that Epstein 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' This past week was the first time Trump had such a dramatic rift with his supporters, who are often compared to a cult. Trump, who rose to power with the help of Fox News, threatened Emma Tucker, editor of Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal, trying to stop its story about a bawdy letter and drawing he allegedly contributed to a 50th birthday book that Ghislaine Maxwell compiled for Epstein. 'I'm gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else,' he said in a call Tuesday with the Journal. (He filed the suit on Friday.) He denied that he ever drew an outline of a naked woman with his name scribbled in a salacious spot, along with writing an insinuating wish to Epstein that 'every day be another wonderful secret.' (What had to be kept secret, Donald?) Loading 'I don't draw pictures,' he wrote on Truth Social, denouncing the 'FAKE letter' in the 'Fake Story.' But Trump's lies – such as the one about his uncle at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Unabomber – are falling apart almost instantaneously. It immediately came out that he was a 'high-profile doodler,' as Tyler Pager put it in The New York Times, and that he donated drawings to charity in the early 2000s. On Thursday, Trump posted that he had asked Bondi to produce 'any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.' But judges usually keep such testimony secret. It was hilarious to see Trump hiding behind the judiciary he has tried to sideline. The president, hoping to redirect the ire of the base back to its favourite chew toy, the mainstream media, posted that the Journal is a 'Disgusting and Filthy Rag.' Natalie Winters, a reporter for Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, told Bannon that the Journal story made her feel 'gaslit' by the administration. 'I thought the DOJ had nothing related to Epstein,' she said. 'Well, this story sort of contradicts that. So why don't we release it? It's maddening.' Twisting conspiracy theories into a Gordian knot of hate, Trump is claiming some Epstein files were 'made up' by Barack Obama, James Comey, 'Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration' and 'Crooked Hillary.' It's tough to blame the deep state when you are the deep state.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
It's well past time to start talking about Trump's decline
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump told a story that, even for the least honest president in American history, was notable. During an energy and technology summit in Pittsburgh, Trump claimed that his uncle John Trump, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, taught the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. 'My uncle was at MIT, one of the great professors,' Trump said. 'Fifty-one years, whatever. Longest-serving professor in the history of MIT. Three degrees in nuclear, chemical and math. That's a smart man.' Though Trump has claimed for years that his deceased uncle is the longest-serving professor at MIT, it's not true, and it has been repeatedly debunked. But Trump was only getting started. Kaczynski was one of his uncle's students, Trump said. He then asked the audience, 'Do you know who Kaczynski was?' and cryptically noted, 'There's very little difference between a madman and a genius.' According to the president, he once had a conversation with John Trump about Kaczynski: 'What kind of a student was he, Uncle John?' Dr. John Trump,' Trump asked. 'He said, 'What kind of a student? 'Man,' he said, 'seriously good. ... He'd go around correcting everybody.' But it didn't work out too well for him.' This is an interesting story, but what is most notable about the president's digression is that none of it was true. First, Kaczynski attended Harvard, not MIT, so it would be unusual, though not impossible, that this uncle would come in contact with the future Unabomber. (Students at both schools do cross-enroll on occasion, though NBC News reported the courses Kaczynski took were taught at Harvard, not MIT.) Second, John Trump passed away in 1985. Kaczynski committed bombings that killed three people and wounded nearly two dozen others from 1978 to 1995. He was finally arrested in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison in 1998. If both the president and his uncle knew that Kaczynski was the Unabomber more than a decade before his arrest ... now that would be a story! Asked about Trump's making up this story, White House press secretary Katherine Leavitt admonished and deflected. 'That with so many issues going on in the world, I'm a little bit surprised you would ask such a question,' said Leavitt. Trump's Unabomber tale is yet another example of the what can feel like an increasing disconnect from reality. Yet, as with so many of Trump's recent and unsettling statements, too many in the mainstream media seem uninterested in covering the story. Trump's Unabomber story has received scant coverage, despite reflecting a repeated pattern of confused and exaggerated statements. For example, the day after his bizarre digression in Pittsburgh, Trump complained once again about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and publicly stated, 'I was surprised he was appointed.' The person who appointed Powell was Donald Trump in 2017. On Monday, at a White House Faith Office summit, he called Powell 'a knucklehead' and a 'stupid guy,' derided the intelligence of other politicians, including his former energy secretary Rick Perry, and said former President Joe Biden 'wasn't faithful enough and sought to persecute religious leaders.' At the same gathering, Trump asserted that gas prices have 'gone to the lowest level in decades. You're seeing $1.99, $1.98, I saw $1.95 at certain states.' Trump has made this claim repeatedly — two weeks ago and several times in April. In fact, the average national gas price has never fallen below $3 a gallon since Trump took office in January, and it is currently around $3.16. Trump also appears at times to have very little idea of what's happening within his own administration. In the run-up to passage of his massive tax and spending bill, he repeatedly claimed that it would eliminate taxes on Social Security — a claim that massively exaggerates the impact of the bill. Of even greater concern is a story that received almost no attention. NOTUS reported that, only days before the legislation was signed into law, Trump told House Republicans that if the party wants to win elections, it shouldn't cut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. According to three sources, one GOP member had to tell Trump, 'But we're touching Medicaid in this bill.' Additionally, Trump made an exceedingly odd comment when asked why his administration had paused military aid shipments to Ukraine, going so far as to ask a reporter whether she knew who had ordered the halt. One might conclude from this compendium of stories that America is in the midst of a governing crisis. The president of the United States is making up stories, repeatedly making false claims and attacking other public officials. Yet there's been little reporting connecting these incidents. What makes this lack of attention even more ironic is that it was just under three months ago at the White House Correspondents' Dinner that Axios reporter Alex Thompson was given the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence, in recognition of his 'aggressive reporting on President Biden' that 'revealed the President's cognitive decline was impacting his ability to do his job, information the White House tried to conceal.' Thompson, along with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, wrote a bestselling book that further explored the president's alleged decline and the White House's attempt to conceal his impairment. In receiving this honor, Thompson upbraided himself and his fellow reporters for dropping the ball on the Biden story. 'President Biden's decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception. But being truth-tellers also means telling the truth about ourselves. We, myself included, missed a lot of this story, and some people trust us less because of it. We bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows.' Yet, right now, as we speak, the president of the United States is showing substantial, arguably greater public evidence of possible cognitive decline. Trump at times is unaware of what is happening inside his administration, can seem clueless about major policy events, and doesn't always appear to understand the very legislation that he is promoting. One can certainly debate the extent to which Biden was truly experiencing cognitive decline. But if reporters are going to argue that the media dropped the ball in not giving that story greater coverage, then how does one explain not even talking about what is happening right now? To quote Thompson, where are the truth-tellers about the current occupant of the White House? This article was originally published on
