OPINION:
First came the cries about Donald Trump stealing the election — that he wasn’t bona fide, that he wasn’t justified, that he didn’t belong in the White House. Then came Russia collusion. The came Russia obstruction of justice. Then came bribery and quid pro quo. Then came Ukraine collusion. All along was impeach, impeach, impeach — resist, resist, resist. And now, on the heels of President Trump’s West Point speech, comes — #RampGate.
Must be a slow news cycle.
Either that — or Trump haters are simply petty and stupid.
Either that — or they want to distract from Democrat Joe “Basement Boy” Biden, the former vice president, and his cowering presidential campaign from the comfort of his safe space home
Potato, potahto.
Either way, out of a historic American tradition and a proud presidential moment, leftists dug hard and found their newest cause: Trump’s walk down a ramp. And oh yes, Trump’s drink of water.
“Rampgate Is Honestly the Best Birthday Present We Can Give Donald Trump,” wrote The Mary Sue, in a headline on the heels of video of Trump walking slowly and carefully down a ramp after delivering West Point graduation ceremony remarks.
The blog also poked at Trump’s steadying of a water glass he sipped at the podium.
“Many are wondering if Trump is suffering from some sort of cognitive decline or dementia,” The Mary Sue went on.
That’s because the media have sparked the wonder.
“Trump’s Walk Down Ramp at West Point Raises Health Questions,” The New York Times ominously wrote in a headline that also opened this way: “The president also appeared to have trouble raising a glass of water to his mouth during a speech at West Point a day before he turned 74, the oldest a president has been in his first term.”
Umm, can you say Joe Biden, 77 years old?
And Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont may be too old to remember, but the rest of America isn’t: He just dropped his run for the presidency at the ripe old age of 78.
Anyhow: The Washington Post’s take was this: “Trump tries to explain his slow and unsteady walk down a ramp at West Point.”
People magazine’s was this: “Trump Spends 74th Birthday Weekend Insisting That, Yes, He Can Walk Down a Ramp After Viral Video.”
Then came the medical experts. On social media. Diagnosing long distance.
“This is a persistent neurological sign that, combined with others, would be concerning enough to require a brain scan,” tweeted Dr. Bandy X Lee — about a day before she hilariously then tweeted this: “The reason we do not diagnose from a distance is because there are too many possible conditions to consider. …”
Then came the trolls.
“Get yourself a president who can drink water, walk down a ramp, AND not escape from the American people in a bunker. #RampGate,” wrote one Twitter poster, in reference to video of Trump steadying a glass of water before he drank and steadying himself as he walked down a ramp and in reminder of Secret Service’s recommendation for Trump to take shelter in the White House bunker at a time when violent protesters congregated in Lafayette Square.
Really?
In one corner stands Joe Biden — literally, in the corner of his basement, propped and steadied by God knows how many helpful hands beyond the camera lens as he stumbles and bumbles through one question after another and his campaign staffers sweat it out and prepare the pages of explanation for whatever gaffe comes from his mouth this hour.
In the other corner — flying here, jetting there, jaunting here and there and everywhere, delivering a speech at West Point this day, a rally in Tulsa that day, and all the while running the country and serving as the most powerful leader in the world is Trump.
And the left wants to harp on Trump’s physical fitness? Not Biden’s?
The left embarrasses itself.
“The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery,” Trump tweeted. “The last thing I was going to do is ’fall’ for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum!”
Out of that: #RampGate.
That’s how desperate Democrats have become.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE.
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