There is speculation that trump had a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) or “ministroke.” This is sometimes a precursor to a stroke. The reasons given for this possibility are:

1. The visit to Walter Reed was not scheduled on trump’s public or private calendars.
2. The staff at Walter Reed were not informed that a VIP was coming. The Montgomery County Police, who would usually provide additional security in Bethesda, were also uninformed.
3. Risk factors for a TIA include: age (over 55), family history, obesity, carotid artery disease, heart deformities, poor diet, lack of exercise, few close and supportive relationships, and increased/recent stress. (The bolded risks are ones thought to apply to Trump. Although Stephanie Grisham stated that Trump was “as healthy as can be,” certainly Trump has been under huge stress with the impeachment hearings, trying to keep his tax returns private, business losses, and more.)
4. TIAs usually resolve in a day or two. Trump was back sending out multiple tweets on Sunday.
5. Trump sent out a tweet saying he was visiting a sick patient, leaving people to wonder why this wasn’t more public. Normally something like this would have been used for positive publicity.
6. Word was sent out from the White House that the visit was just the first part of Trump’s annual fitness exam. This was received with disbelief.

Whatever you make of this, we citizens deserve to have more information about the health of our president, and be assured that there will be a smooth transfer of power and decision making.

Please note, I’m not a medical professional, and “all I know is what I read in the newspapers.” I follow Trump and the White House on Twitter. I live on a boat and I don’t have cable TV, so I’m not influenced by cable pundits. If you have other information, or you disagree, just say so and provide your best information. Personal attacks will be deleted.

EDIT, 20 Nov 2019

This has been making the rounds today. It’s a quote from Anonymous, the Author of A Warning:

“He stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information, not occasionally but with regularity,” the author of the book opines, per reporting from Newsweek. Trump “also can’t remember what he’s said or been told,” the author adds.

Here is a link to the Newsweek article:

Anonymous book author questions Trump’s mental faculties: “He stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated”

Some readers may not have the greatest respect for Anonymous, but he is hardly the first to comment on Trump’s mental issues. This information relates to the possibility of ministrokes as they could be a cause of symptoms like slurring words, confusion, and irritation.

Okay, one more update. I came across a humorous editorial, “Let’s Get Half Physical,” that makes light of this sudden physical thing. It’s by Alexandra Petri. In case you haven’t read her before, she’s a satirist. In other words, don’t take it seriously and enjoy.

On the serious side, a video has surfaced which shows Trump leaving the WH on Saturday morning with his doctor. They are getting into the Secret Service’s black SUVs. There is what appears to be a yellow (manila?) envelope taped to the left side of Trump’s greatcoat. Does anyone know what that could be? An EKG printout? A list of medications administered?

Is there a doctor in the house?

WHAT THE EFF IS GOING ON? My answer to the main question was almost exactly five years ago! I had completely left this behind, having talked it out. Then some troll scanned Quora and found this discussion and decided to attack. Or maybe Quora used their algorithms to put my five-year old answer in some trump nut’s inbox. Whatever. Others piled on, both pro and con. My inbox is full of notices I have comments on something that is history at this point.

As this current 2024 discussion is irrelevant and adds nothing but red vs. blue vitriol, I’m cutting it off. I don’t need views and comments on Quora that badly.

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Outside observation: Neither one.

Why?

Let’s review:

1. He didn’t leave in an ambulance or by helicopter – If he was having a heart attack, he would have been rushed to the hospital, immediately. That didn’t happen.
2. He wasn’t kept overnight – A heart attack in a 73 year old overweight man, who is in poor shape, would be a serious event. He would have been held overnight if it had occurred.
3. He stayed for two hours – There’s no way that he could have been checked out thoroughly in two hours following a heart attack. If he had remained well into the evening, then perhaps. But he didn’t.
4. He’s back at work and tweeting – If he had experienced a heart attack, his physician would have demanded that he take it easy for a few days. That doesn’t seem to be happening.
5. He has no public history of panic disorder – Trump has been in a number of highly stressful situations, and while he hasn’t handled them with aplomb, he’s never been recorded as having a panic attack from them. It would be highly unusual for a man his age to have a panic attack out of the blue.

My opinion?

Trump sees that things are not going well for him, and he’s preparing a medical retirement in case that option becomes a necessity. The trip to the hospital was a necessary first step toward this, and it could be referenced later in case he decides to get out before the end of his term.

It might also have been a desperate attempt to obtain much-needed sympathy for himself. His popularity is dropping, and a “fake health scare” might be enough to rally the troops around him. It certainly took away from the ongoing impeachment inquiry.

I don’t believe that Donald Trump was facing a heart attack or a panic attack. He would have been held in the hospital longer for the former. And he could have been treated at the White House for the latter.