Trump tries to explain his slow and unsteady walk down a ramp at West Point

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Trump late Saturday tried to explain his slow and unsteady walk down a ramp at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which had generated concern and mockery on social media, by claiming the walkway was “very slippery” and that he was worried about falling.

The walk in question came at the conclusion of Saturday’s commencement exercises at West Point, where Trump was the guest speaker. As he exited the raised platform by descending a ramp alongside Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, the academy’s superintendent, Trump was visibly tentative and took short, careful steps.

Video of the moment was widely shared on social media, with critics of the president — including Republican operatives working on the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group whose ads have provoked the president’s ire — using the hashtag #TrumpIsNotWell in their tweets.

...snip...

Elements of Trump’s explanation strained credulity. Trump’s claim that the ramp had been “very slippery” was inconsistent with the weather, which on Saturday in West Point, N.Y., was sunny and clear-skied. The grass plain on which the commencement took place was dry.


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-tries-to-explain-his-slow-and-unsteady-walk-down-a-ramp-at-west-point/2020/06/14/7d89cdf2-ae43-11ea-856d-5054296735e5_story.html

[Cirque du So-What]

1. How long before he claims someone at West Point was setting him up to take a fall?

You know he's thinking it.

[forgotmylogin]

35. It was a beautiful day.

Shame on West Point for greasing that ramp to make it slippery and making you look like a fool and spending all this news cycle defending yourself, likely perpetrated by Soros/Democrat Governors/Protestors/Fake Media/Antifa.

[Lock him up.]

43. Nobody applauded the maggot's prepared cheering line...

Army's _Birthday_ *same as his own* (which History will record as infamy...)

*crickets*

Lock him up.

[Rebl2]

2. Maybe

he has arthritis in his knees. He should not lie about that it was slippery. With all that weight, he must have some in his knees I would think.

[Shrike47]

45. I do and I walk like he did down slopes and on sand.

Why won’t he just admit it if that’s his problem (in addition to the lifts under his heels, which would aggravate the problem)?

[Delmette2.0]

50. All ramps should have hand rails.

That said, if he would just ask for an accommodation it would be provided. The Dipshit can't admit to needing anything that make him look weak. In the process he looks weak!

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

70. He has his right hand on the retaining wall next to the ramp.

See the Guardian picture.

[Delmette2.0]

72. The American Disabilities Act says that is not enough.

A handrail is to be gripped at a reasonable height.

I'm paraphrasing but I took a state agency to task for not providing a handrail that a person could grip to feel safe on the stairs. All you have to do is ask for a reasonable accommodation.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

73. My favorite ADA "accomodations" are businesses which post the blue handicapped access stickers

on their doors, but don't have a mechanism for opening them (usually a push button to activate a door opener). I was on a walker for a couple of months after an operation, and that was a constant irritant, along with designated parking places far from the entrance.

[Delmette2.0]

75. Then you need to inform the management about the continued barrier

If they don't correct the problem, your State should have an Department within the Health and Human Services Agency to assist you in your concerns.

I really do understand your concerns. My son had Muscular Dystrophy and could not climb or decend stairs without assistance or risk falling. He could not navigate the bureaucracy to file a complaint, but I could.

I know that I didn't have the terminology to legally state my son's case, but having someone with him guaranteed that he would not be ignored. I believe we helped many other people with disabilities access the service they needed by insisting that a proper hand rail be installed and the staff would post a sign with a phone number to call so someone would come downstairs and get the information needed.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

77. Thanks for the information. I've healed (knee replacements) but that doesn't let them off the hook.

The crazy thing is that there are two sets of doors, and the inner doors are automatically operated. It wouldn't haven't taken them much to make the outer doors operate the same way.

[progree]

3. Maybe it was his bone spurs flaring up. Or that he was escorted by a "multicultural" type,

yu no wut I mean? Gotta be extra careful. Ask my buddies Derrick and Garrett.

Trump lashes out after critics highlight unsteady walk down West Point ramp
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/14/trump-unsteady-walk-down-west-point-ramp

[StarryNite]

22. Looks like he leads with his left foot.

He lets the right foot catch up and then steps out again with his left.

[tikka]

51. It's interesting since he had to help his right hand to drink from the glass of water earlier.

Could he have possibly had a mini-stoke that affected his right side?

[sandensea]

71. +1

They didn't rush him to Walter Reed for indigestion.

[lettucebe]

4. Seriously doubt that ramp is a safety hazard

[forgotmylogin]

37. "The president is visiting! Carl! Go find that old broken down slippery ramp by the dumpster!"

"No, not that one, the one with the cracks and holes in it and the crooked treads. That railing is loose? Just tear it off there! No, don't bother hammering in the exposed nails. Now fetch that bacon grease and rub it all over the thing! I've sent Janene to buy a box of Legos we can throw down it too!"

[thesquanderer]

5. I didn't think the walk was so slow, just odd, and the "circus music" made it even goofier.

But did you see where he needed a second hand to get the water glass high enough to reach his mouth??

Link to tweet

[progree]

9. "second hand to get the water glass high enough" - that's cuz he's real tall, yunno

[mahatmakanejeeves]

26. I wouldn't call that a rousing applause. NT

[sarge43]

48. That was the four clap salute.

Just enough to keep from being yelled at later, but "we know bs when we hear it" signal.
The Academy taught them well.

[BarbD]

29. I find this more disturbing than the walk.

His hands are probably shaking.

[RobinA]

67. I Agree

There could be a million reasons for a not-so-young guy to walk a little funny down a ramp and he was fine when he got to level grass, but the drink was strange. It did seem like he couldn't get the glass high enough because he leans over a bit to get to the glass, can't do it, and then raises it with the other hand. Shoulder injury?

[LeftInTX]

38. The circus 🎪 music..😆!

To be fair they really should have had steps
I don't think I've seen a major event like that with just a plain old ramp. I notice the uniform escorting Trump is also a bit off.

Then you've got Trumps reaction to everyone's reaction..😆

He could have just said. "Yeah the ramp was steep" but he doesn't have a sense of humor.

I remember Ford tripping but Ford had a sense of humor about the whole thing.

[niyad]

62. You forget that iq45* does not like stairs. And that ramp was not steep

[Thirties Child]

66. I saw a video of Obama walking down that same ramp, no problem.

[LeftInTX]

74. There are plenty images of Obams brisking down AF1

Trump has to hold the rail.
Obama is young and fit.

[BlueIdaho]

6. Dementia.

[IggleDuer]

7. Was the ramp slippery for the General?

Did anybody else who used the ramp find it slippery?

[keithbvadu2]

31. Waiting for the General to say how slippery it was.

Waiting for the General to say how slippery it was.

Surely they are getting it fixed this week.

Maybe an elevator?

[IggleDuer]

40. And then the General will retract it a week later.

N/T

[Dopers_Greed]

8. TRIGGERED

[AleksS]

10. Well, his bone spurs have been known to act up

when he gets close to military service...so maybe it was that. He got faster the farther away he got....

[Chemisse]

11. I am 65 and I would walk down a ramp like that IF:

My knees were giving me trouble, my shoes had no tread on them and the walkway had no grit to it, I could not hold on to a railing and either of the above were true.

So I don't think it's particularly odd for a man his age to be nervous going down a ramp.

[spooky3]

15. I agree and posted something similar on another thread. Nt

[Journeyman]

19. I too would be cautious on a ramp. Also 65, I don't heal as quickly as I once did . . .

That said, I'm not as overweight as His Lardship, nor am I a couch potato (I walk 6 miles most days), so I'm certain I'd go down a ramp with some ease. My older brother, 71 and with some medical issues, would approach it more like President Unfit.

What I find amusing in it all is that West Point, knowing its overweight, elderly Dotard of Pisa would need to use that ramp to leave, decided not to install a handrail.

[Rebl2]

42. I'm with you

Have had RA since I was a child and at my age-60’s- and even in my 40’s was very carful going up/down stairs and ramps. Now I don’t like he lied about his reason that it was slippery. I absolutely in no way (did I) would I support this man for president because I find him evil.

[sarge43]

46. You're an adult. You can be honest about physical problems

Bunkerbaby on the other must protect his self image even when he must lie about it. He'd set himself on fire before he'd admit to himself or the world that he's anything less than perfect.

If he wasn't such a shit, he'd be pitiful.

[yardwork]

63. A few weeks ago the White House released Trump's recent medical report.

The report implies that Trump is in perfect health. So when people see these videos, we naturally ask questions.

It's the disparity between Trump's reported health and what we're seeing that raises questions.

[Chemisse]

64. Yeah that makes sense.

I have a tendency to push back on what I see as mocking someone for things that are either understandable (due to age) or outside the person's control (physical appearance).

But actually, if this trouble on the ramp could be part of a combination of symptoms that indicate brain lesions (the water glass incident and slurring of speech), as suggested elsewhere in this thread, then it really is pertinent.

[yardwork]

76. Exactly!

[vapor2]

12. IN addition to the walk down the ramp

he cannot explain his holding a small glass with 2 hands, his hard breathing, his constant leaning to his left, his lack of balance on Memorial Day etc etc. Let's face it, he probably has neurological issues and perhaps dementia. UNFIT for the office

[BigmanPigman]

13. These same things happened to me while in my late 30s.

I was extremely stressed for a long period of time. Eventually it stopped as the stress was reduced.

[Dave Starsky]

17. You probably had a lot of responsibilities at the time.

This dude tweets literally 200 times a day and flat out doesn't give a fuck.

[BigmanPigman]

59. Yes, I did but it was still stress

that showed up in my uncontrollable actions (shaking, off balance...). The racist rapist says he loves stress and chaos but maybe it isn't as good for him as he likes to think. He is stressed out big time...he should be. He can't handle this much chaos and stress over such a long period of time. Maybe he will stroke out and do us all a favor.

[DesertRat]

14. Here's how President Obama does it

Link to tweet

President Obama and Future President Biden

Link to tweet

[hay rick]

16. He should be used to slippery slopes by now.

That's where he has been leading the Republican Party.

[riversedge]

39. That slope is always into the stinking Trumpswamp

[RainCaster]

18. That ramp was probably put there for DFT

The way the superintendent followed so close, he was obviously a spotter.

[Lonestarblue]

20. Trump supposedly wears lifts in his shoes to make him taller.

At least that’s been one reason for him to tip forward when standing. Tipping forward on a ramp going down would make balance a real issue. That said, the other thing that looked weird was how he bent his head so far forward.

I keep wondering about that trip to Walter Reed last year and whether he actually had a stroke then. Both his physical abilities and his cognition have deteriorated since then.

[LiberalFighter]

27. That is my thought with his high heels.

[LudwigPastorius]

55. That's it.

I mean, just look at the way he stands. He's completely off balance because he's perched up on his toes.

That, and the fact that he needs glasses, but refuses to wear them.

He may be a doddering, demented fool, but his vanity isn't helping him when it comes to ramps and stairs.

[PatSeg]

21. By explaining,

he is only drawing more attention to the issue, something a lot of people might not have even been aware of. He just can't let anything go and now the story will spread farther and for a longer period of time. I'm surprised he didn't find a way to blame Obama or Democrats.

Personally, I don't care how he walked down that ramp, as much as I care about how he put all those cadets' lives at risk so his huge ego could get some media attention.

[Scarsdale]

24. Well, he certainly got the

attention he craves. Just not for his speech or demeanor.

[PatSeg]

36. And that's the way it usually goes

I'm sure he thought he gave a wonderful speech and that he came across as very presidential. He is a god-awful public speaker, hard to believe he was on television for years. In the end, people will remember his struggle to walk down a ramp.

[Totally Tunsie]

60. The advantage to Chump being "on television for years" is all

in the editing. There was probably more of him on the cutting room floor than there ever was on the screen.

[PatSeg]

69. Oh yes, that is an excellent point

They can make even a mediocre person look impressive. I believe his show WAS heavily edited and he was extremely difficult to work with (no surprise there). I still will never understand what the appeal was though. You really can't make Trump look or sound good.

[IronLionZion]

23. The ramp is clearly a deep state plot

dude should just quit already. This job isn't for him.

[SergeStorms]

53. AntiFa made the ramp!

They're well known ramp makers, and they certainly would devise a ramp (you know, with that science they're always using!) to make His Assholiness look like he's handicapped or something. Just what is this group's problem with fascists, anyway?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

25. The ramp should have had a handrail.

I'm getting up there, and I would have been holding on to a handrail had there been one.

[CountAllVotes]

28. When I graduated from college

I had to walk up on stage to receive my Master's degree. All I could think of was, "Am I going to fall? Will I embarrass myself to death and take another fall?".

Who thinks like this when going up on a stage with a couple of steps to master?

It was not a few months later that I figured out "who". "Who" was me and I had MS and all of the falls and the grabbing on to things to prevent falling are all part of it.

It seems to me he has a serious medical problem. He can only conceal it for so long before it becomes a huge problem. He is a fool to ignore it and make petty excuses for it. I know because I did the same stupid thing.

Denial will get him nowhere.

Idiot.

[keithbvadu2]

30. How Trump does it in the White House

[LizBeth]

32. I think he is 'fraid of heights. I have seen it elsewhere. Now, I do not have an ego to protect so I

can easily say, my fear of heights is so extreme, so stupidly extreme, standing on a chair throws me in a tizzy. Looking at a picture of someone high has my tummy dropping. I cannot drive cliff roads, of any kind. Turned back on a hike because there was a ledge even though my son mocked my cowardliness. Lol. It is what it is. No rails, on the outside, I think he was in a grip of fear and why he did the little hop dance at the end getting off, because, ... he made it.

[justgamma]

33. Didn't he claim

that he ran down the last 10 ft.? BS, he took 2 quick steps at the bottom. We can see you, you dummy. Quit lying!!

[fierywoman]

34. No one has factored in the idea that he was wearing pretty high heel lifts. Add the angle of the

lift to the (downward) angle of the ramp and it would be like he was wearing the high heeled shoes he makes all the women around him wear. (Experience of a chick who used to wear high heeled shoes!)

[Chainfire]

41. I is not the man's physical disabilities that bother me.

[magicarpet]

44. The Joint Chief of Staff and the Secretary of Defense conspired against trDump,...

.... and spread Vaseline rE Jelly all over the ramp at West Point as a plan to make him slip and fall on his face.

Like he needs help tripping himself up,... he does that day in and day out ten times a day all by himself. He needs no outside help in that regard. He has that base adequately covered and then some.

[mwb970]

47. He's not just sick in the head.

He is physically ill as well. And lying about it! This is probably why he was rushed to Walter Reed that time to "inspect the facility" or "begin next year's physical" or whatever lie he told then.

[world wide wally]

49. NEWS FLASH:

Trump is a fucking liar.

[SpankMe]

52. Biden will be running against Pence in Nov. n/t

[Collimator]

54. No one would be making fun or criticizing him if he weren't such a turd to begin with.

Most people are understanding and sympathetic to the frailties of others. Given Trump's history of mocking the disabled, the less-than-gorgeous etc., etc., he deserves every joke tossed his way.

This was a man who did an exaggerated imaginary rendition of two FBI agents' private affair for the amusement of his audience at a rally. Somebody should stand up in front of a crowd and do an imaginary rendition of his private encounter with Stormy Daniels while his wife was home recovering from child birth.

[marie999]

56. That ramp does seem to have a steep slope.

We have a ramp that has a 30" rise and is 30' long. ADA specifications.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

57. He might feel unstable in elevator shoes. nt

[Cha]

58. Of Course BLOTUS LIES to Cover UP whatever is really

going on.. that's why we know Something else Is Going ON.

[Tommymac]

61. I got a bit nauseous watching his lips flap.

[louis-t]

65. And he will waste hours of our time

trying to make excuses for his movements. Kim Jong Trump cannot stand to be ridiculed, mocked, or questioned. He is the supreme ruler, after all. He charged down the last 10 ft of that ramp like Teddy Roosevelt charged up San Juan Hill, dontcha know. Then he went to one of his golf courses and shot an 18.

[Paladin]

68. Keep trying to explain, old man trump.

Keep your shambled walk and your having to drink with both hands in the news until you're flushed out of office.