Great frustration related to lack of transparency about Trump’s health: President’s doctor thinks he could be discharged Monday

– There have been many rumors, but total lack of information from above. [ …] No one can trust what they hear, because what is said in public does not seem to make sense.

This was stated by an anonymous source at the top of the White House system to journalist Jonathan Swan, who writes for the Axios website. Employees reacted to the lack of information and, for the first time, were told that the president was sick on Twitter, at the same time as the rest of the world.

And it is not just internally that there has been total confusion about the status of the president. Since the president was diagnosed with coronary disease on Friday, information about his health has pointed in different directions:

• A press conference was held on Saturday, where Trump’s doctor, Sean Conely, said he was doing very well.
• Later in the evening he tweeted A White House reporter said sources close to the president said the condition was “very worrying.” The source turned out to be Trump’s own chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
• On Sunday, Dr. Conley confirmed at a press conference that the president received oxygen and dexamethasone, steroids to treat severe cases of corona. The steroid is supposed to strengthen lung function. There have been two cases where the president has had low oxygen levels since Thursday.
• However, Conley upheld the claim that the president is on the road to recovery and that he could be discharged Monday in exchange for additional treatment at the White House.
• At the same time, aide to President Robert O’Brien declared CBS News that he believes the president will stay in the hospital “for a while.”

The chief of staff was the source

When it turned out that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was the source of the plot over Trump’s health, the confusion was utter.

On Saturday night, Chief of Staff Meadows tried to make amends for the injury and appeared on the news program “Justice with Judge Jeanine” on Fox News. There, he claimed that Trump’s health had deteriorated on Friday, before the president was sent to the hospital.

However, Meadows claimed that Trump had shown signs of improvement and was optimistic on behalf of the president.

In retrospect, Trump posted a video on Twitter thanking the doctors and nurses who have cared for him since he entered.

– I came here and I didn’t feel so good. I feel much better now and we are working hard to recover, says Trump in the video.

That same night, the White House sent photos to the press of Trump working from the hospital.

Tradition of secrecy

The president’s health has long been a contentious topic in the United States, even before Donald Trump was installed. Historian Hans Olav Lahlum cites a number of examples of how the health of sitting presidents was kept hidden from the public.

– As usual in such a context, in a way it has had the whole scale. They have had completely unwarranted rumors about the president’s health, and have seen serious health problems that only came to light in hindsight, he tells DN.

He cites Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was president from 1933 until his death in 1945, as the best example of the latter.

– He was in very poor health all the time, and it was barely mentioned that he was in a wheelchair. He produced a new health certificate in 1944, which must be said to be questionable. It is said that in internal circles there were many who estimated that it would not be long before the vice president had to take office.

After Roosevelt’s death, it became clear that his health condition had been far worse than the public knew.

Another example is President Grover Cleveland, who was president for two terms in the late 1800s, Lahlum says.

– He had a cancer operation while he was president. This treatment was carried out in secret and at sea, because it was feared that it would affect the stock markets.

The operation took place on a yacht in 1893. Journalist Matthew Alego described the incident in the 2011 book “The President is a Sick Man.” In the book, Alego writes that the operation became known after journalist EJ Edwards confirmed the story by one of the Cleveland doctors.

Cleveland himself, however, strongly denied that it had happened, and Edwards was discredited as a journalist. However, 24 years after the operation, the story was confirmed.

Lahlum thinks it’s difficult to conclude how open Trump has been about his own infection, as they don’t have all the facts on the table yet. However, it does make a comparison with when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was diagnosed with the infection in March this year.

– I have perceived it in such a way that in the Boris Johnson situation one has been more open. What you get now is some scattered glimpses and conflicting information has emerged. It is not entirely clear who will speak and what is being said is mixed, says Lahlum.

– In the situation with Boris Johnson, they were quite open about the fact that at one point it was bad and there was little conflicting information that came out.

– unprofessional

Political science professor Janne Haaland Matlary thinks the communication about Trump’s health seems unprofessional, but she doesn’t think it is due to a political game.

– I don’t think it’s an attempt to paint something beautiful, but it is surprising and unprofessionally handled, he says.

– Do you think that Trump’s health situation will pose a risk to the security of the United States?

The article continues below the announcement.

– In terms of security, it probably doesn’t matter much. If it’s Pence who’s intervening for a while, then I don’t see that it has any significant security significance. It will be much calmer waters, says Matlary.

Rather, he thinks that it is the electoral campaign that will possibly be harmed by Trump’s illness.

– It all depends on how well you do. If he recovers, he has somehow won the battle against the crown. If you get sicker, it will affect the election campaign and you will probably be in a bad position.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content may only be done with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms, see here.