WASHINGTON—When the White House released the results of a test on Donald Trump’s mental aptitude Tuesday, showing he aced it without signs of cognitive decline, there was one person out there brimming with pride despite not knowing the president.That person was Ziad Nasreddine, the man who designed the test.The Lebanese-Canadian neurologist learned from a reporter Tuesday afternoon that the White House had selected the Montreal Cognitive Assessment to test the president’s faculties after days of speculation about his state.This was the test Nasreddine developed as a young researcher two decades ago, in an effort to quickly assess, within 10 or 12 minutes, whether someone has suffered light cognitive impairment or the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, by asking them to perform tasks such as drawing a clock, identifying animals and remembering words. Read more: … [Read more...] about Donald Trump aces mental aptitude test designed by an immigrant to Canada
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Donald Trump ‘in excellent health’ doctor says after president’s first physical
WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House physician declared him in “excellent health” after the president received his first medical checkup at Walter Reed military hospital on Friday, undergoing a physical examination amid suggestions in a recent book and by his detractors that he’s mentally unfit.Dr. Ronny Jackson, in a statement released by the White House, said the examination “went exceptionally well. The President is in excellent health and I look forward to briefing some of the details on Tuesday.” Trump spent about three hours at the medical facility in Bethesda, Maryland, outside Washington, for the Friday afternoon checkup, his first as president, before departing for Florida for the weekend.The fairly routine exam for previous presidents has taken on outsized importance in the age of Trump, given the tone of some of his tweets, comments attributed to some of his close advisers and Trump’s recent slurring of words on … [Read more...] about Donald Trump ‘in excellent health’ doctor says after president’s first physical
Donald Trump tried to show you he’s sane and stable. His week became a running fiasco
WASHINGTON—On Tuesday — does anyone remember Tuesday? — Donald Trump tried to demonstrate that he is sane and stable.An explosive new book had called into question his mental fitness, so the president had a showman’s brainwave. He would throw open the doors to a private meeting on immigration, letting television cameras capture him in command, at length, at his familiar spot at the centre of a boardroom table.The plan didn’t go perfectly. Trump was vague and contradictory. He did not seem to understand policy terminology, much less policy itself.But he was involved and subdued, and if it seemed that the country was being run by an ignoramus, it did not seem obvious, in those 55 minutes at least, that it was being run by someone unhinged. He got the usual praise from television pundits eager to find something nice to say.Then came Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. … [Read more...] about Donald Trump tried to show you he’s sane and stable. His week became a running fiasco
Donald Trump has reportedly cancelled his planned trip to the UK in February
Donald Trump has cancelled his planned visit to the United Kingdom in February 2018, according to a new report from The Daily Mail. The US president had been due to open the new American embassy in London but has now reportedly pulled out because he is “unhappy about the arrangements and scale of the visit.” Any visit by Trump to the UK seems certain to be met with huge protests, with 55% of Brits in one poll calling for his planned state visit to be cancelled. In late 2017 he embroiled himself in an unprecedented spat with British Prime Minister Theresa May, attacking her over terrorism in the UK after he retweeted videos shared by a far-right anti-Muslim extremist from Britain – sparking universal condemnation from British politicians. After his election, Theresa May invited Trump to the United Kingdom for an official “state visit,” but he has yet to take her up on the offer. The February visit would have been a lower-profile … [Read more...] about Donald Trump has reportedly cancelled his planned trip to the UK in February
Focus on Donald Trump’s active agenda, not where he eats cheeseburgers
The furor over Donald Trump’s eccentricities is a sideshow. Whether he eats cheeseburgers in bed doesn’t matter. What matters is what he does as president of the United States.So far, that’s been quite a lot.Granted, the cheeseburger story is more fun. Reinforcement of what we already believe generally is.That’s why Fire and Fury, Michael Wolff’s alleged insider account of the White House, has become an international bestseller. It appears to confirm the popular wisdom about Trump — that he is a narcissistic buffoon incapable of thought, who spends most of his time tweeting, watching television and eating cheeseburgers in bed.Anything that supports the cheeseburger view of Trump gets good play. A dubious account that he had muffed America’s national anthem at a football kickoff this week ricocheted around the world. … [Read more...] about Focus on Donald Trump’s active agenda, not where he eats cheeseburgers