In November of last year, President Donald Trump was suddenly rushed to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the middle of the night. He was reportedly having a medical emergency, and the issue was serious enough to alert Vice President Mike Pence that he needed to be ready to take over immediately if the president was placed under general anesthesia.
This startling revelation comes via the new book from Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Michael Schmidt of the New York Times. According to Gabriel Debenedetti, who has read the book and wrote a review for the Times, there were some tense moments when Trump was taken to the hospital so suddenly:
“Describing Trump’s unexpected November 2019 visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he reports the White House wanted Mike Pence ‘on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized.’ (The vice president never had to take this step.)”
What exactly was Trump’s medical emergency? According to reporter Don Winslow, a White House insider has told him that the president has suffered a “series” of “mini-strokes” since taking office. He shared that information on Twitter in August:
One of the benefits of making videos that garner 5 million+ views is that you hear from a lot of people, including whistleblowers inside Trump administration.
I’ve received three communications saying that during his term Trump has suffered a “series” of “mini-strokes.”
WATCH. pic.twitter.com/MHWQR1c2Yk
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) August 1, 2020
And now we can also consider an excerpt from a forthcoming book written by noted journalist Seth Abramson, who provides new details regarding Trump’s unexpected visit to Walter Reed:
“On November 16, 2019, as President Trump is exhibiting cold-like symptoms, he is unexpectedly—and without any explanation to the public, either at the time or since—rushed to a U.S. military hospital, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
“Even the president’s attire for his unscheduled November 16 hospital visit is unusual, with HuffPost noting that ‘the president normally wears a suit and tie for most events, including visits to Walter Reed, but that Saturday [November 16] he wore an open-collared shirt and jacket as he climbed into the SUV, carrying a thick packet of papers under one arm.'”
Abramson then adds this interesting footnote:
“Not only were medical staff at Walter Reed ‘not given advance notice’ that the president would be coming to the facility, but Trump’s visit was ‘followed by a multi-day absence from the public eye.”
Now more than ever, the American public needs to see Donald Trump’s full medical record. It’s the only way we can make an informed decision regarding his fitness for the office.