The “60 Minutes” Trump interview. Is something wrong with him?

The health of a President of the United States always is an issue. In fact, Donald Trump continually makes it an issue with repeated references to Joe Biden’s age. Biden is three years older than Trump.

Recently, Trump was interviewed by Lesley Stahl. It was a typical interview. Trump bragged, lied, repeatedly changed the subject, attacked Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Biden, blamed the media, and quoted unfounded conspiracy theories.

All normal.

But, something else seemed rather strange: the odd, two-handed way he drank water, as though he didn’t trust his hands not to shake.

Here are shots from the interview:

 

 

 

I don’t pretend to be a doctor, so I looked it up at:

What causes hand tremors?
In some cases, the cause is unknown, but tremors often result from neurological conditions, movement disorders, or other health problems.

Neurological conditions
Some neurological conditions that can cause shaky hands include:

Multiple sclerosis (MS): Many people with MS experience some degree of tremor. This often develops when the disease damages areas in the pathways of the central nervous system that control movement.
Stroke: An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery, preventing blood from reaching the brain. This can cause lasting damage to neurological pathways and lead to tremors.
Traumatic brain injury: Physical injury to the brain can also damage nerves that play a role in coordinating movement. Hand tremors may occur when an injury affects certain nerves.
Parkinson’s disease: More than 25 percent of people with Parkinson’s disease have a related action tremor, as well as a more common resting tremor in one or both hands. Tremors usually begin on one side of the body, and they may spread to the other side. Shaking may become more pronounced during periods of stress or strong emotion.

Movement disorders

Anxiety and depression may cause movement disorders.
The following are examples of movement disorders that can cause hand tremors:

Essential tremor: This is among the most common movement disorders, and the cause is unknown. The tremor usually affects both sides of the body, but it may be more noticeable in the dominant hand. It tends to occur when the person is moving as well as when standing still. Genetics may be responsible for around half of the cases of essential tremor.
Dystonic tremor: In a person with dystonia, the brain sends incorrect messages, resulting in overactive muscles, abnormal postures, and sustained undesired movements. Young adults and those in middle age are most likely to develop dystonic tremors, which can occur in any muscle.

The following health issues can also cause shaky hands:

psychiatric conditions, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder
inherited degenerative disorders, such as hereditary ataxia or fragile X syndrome
alcohol abuse or withdrawal
mercury poisoning
hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid
liver or kidney failure
anxiety or panic

Certain drugs can also cause hand tremors, such as:

some asthma medicines
amphetamines
caffeine
corticosteroids
medicines used to treat certain psychiatric and neurological disorders

Again, not to play doctor, but Trump has been taking powerful drugs for COVID-19. For example, He took hydroxychloroquine sulfate. Among the side effects are:

Mood changes, and feeling nervous or irritable.

He also took VEKLURY® (remdesivir).

“Coadministration of VEKLURY and chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate is not recommended based on in vitro data demonstrating an antagonistic effect of chloroquine on the intracellular metabolic activation and antiviral activity of VEKLURY.

Metabolic activation is the chemical conversion of a relatively benign substance into a more hazardous one by normal biochemical processes in cells and tissues.

He also took dexamethasone. Among the side effects are:

Aggression, agitation, anxiety, irritability, mental depression, mood changes, nervousness

And then there is COVID-19 itself:

Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness.

The virus can affect the whole nervous system — the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles.

The reaction of the immune system to the infection can cause inflammation that can damage the brain and nerves, Koralnik added.

I still don’t pretend to be a doctor, but anyone who takes COVID-19 lightly and diminishes its risk, as Trump continually does, is asking for trouble, not only for himself but for everyone who believes him.

And that trouble can be exacerbated by powerful drugs combined with advanced age.

One only can hope Trump is receiving advice and treatment from experienced doctors like Dr. Fauci, and not from Dr. Atlas, the COVID-19 minimizer.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.

The most important problems in economics involve:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:

1. Eliminate FICA
2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
3. Social Security for all or a reverse income tax
4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
5. Salary for attending school
6. Eliminate federal taxes on business
7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually. 
8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
9. Federal ownership of all banks
10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9% 

The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY