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It was a heart attack. Within 24 hours, the American people learned that their president was in an oxygen tent and would be in hospital for six weeks. Eisenhower was running for re-election in 1956 and was asked by some if he was too old at 64, which seemed old at the time.
If he won and then died, he would be succeeded by his vice president, Richard Nixon, and the Democrats saw a winning issue. They hated Nixon; I was inexperienced and untrustworthy, they said. In the event, he proved to be a perfectly competent MP, Eisenhower bounced back, and the two men overwhelmingly won.
However, just a year later, the president had another attack and rumors circulated that he might resign. What if Eisenhower was incapacitated? Power would technically transfer to Nixon. What if Eisenhower objected? That was complicated: Congress would have to vote, taking up to 21 days, and since the United States was a nuclear superpower surrounded by enemies, this 18th-century solution simply did not meet the demands of the time. The same process remains in place today, should a sick president refuse to hand over power to his deputy, though there has been no official suggestion that Mike Pence, who tested negative for Covid, be asked to take charge.
When the world is watching, image is everything and information flow is important, which is why the administration has said very little about Trump’s condition. Trump normally speaks from the hip, but his Twitter account fell silent. His filmed statement – “I think I’m doing great” – was short and to the point.
When he walked to the Marine One helicopter, which took him 10 minutes to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he resisted the temptation to speak to the waiting press on the South Lawn of the White House. This may not mean that your condition is very bad, but that you do not want to reveal anything.
The president has a paradoxical attitude towards health. He mocked Biden in his debate for wearing a mask too often, but we know Trump is a germophobic who doesn’t even like to shake hands (he’s called him “disgusting,” “barbaric,” and “one of the curses of the American society “). ).
