New Republic Suggests Donald Trump Might Have Syphilis, With No Evidence

“I cannot, of course, establish this diagnosis from a distance,” writes doctor, who nonetheless ponders at length whether the president might have an untreated STD

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Donald Trump

New Republic isn’t a doctor, but apparently it enjoys playing one on the internet.

The publication ran an eyebrow-raising article on Friday, suggesting that President Donald Trump’s behavior could be the result of an untreated STD.

The article, “A Medical Theory for Donald Trump’s Behavior,” was written by Dr. Steven Beutler, who’s described as having “spent over 30 years practicing medicine, specializing in infectious diseases.”

While acknowledging that he “cannot, of course, establish this diagnosis from a distance,” Beutler makes the case that Trump suffers from “neurosyphilis,” which he says exhibits its first symptoms “in the form of psychiatric issues and personality changes.”

According to Beutler, neurosyphilis is “seen 10 to 30 years after the initial infection, and it is best known for causing neurologic and neuropsychiatric disease.”

“Commonly recognized symptoms include irritability, loss of ability to concentrate, delusional thinking, and grandiosity. Memory, insight, and judgment can become impaired,” Beutler wrote. “Insomnia may occur. Visual problems may develop, including the inability of pupils to react to the light. This, along other ocular pathology, can result in photophobia, dimming of vision, and squinting.”

“All of these things have been observed in Trump,” Beutler asserted in the article.

Beutler went on to say that Trump “was potentially exposed to syphilis,” citing Trump’s “own statements that he was sexually promiscuous in the 1980s, a period when syphilis cases were rapidly increasing in the U.S..” In particular, he cited a 1997 interview between Trump and Howard Stern, in which Trump said he’s “been so lucky in terms of that whole world.”

New Republic should cross its fingers and hope that it’s lucky too; the Trump crew has a litigious history when it comes to shaky media stories.

 

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