President Donald Trump has never been known for self-awareness, but his latest move may be the clearest proof yet. This week, he rolled out new guidelines targeting so-called “bigger ones” — a demand that would be shocking on its own, if not for the absurd reason that left many scratching their heads.
And his attempt to defend it enraged critics even more as he randomly lobbed an insult at Rosie O’Donnell, derailing the explanation and turning the announcement into yet another unhinged Trump meltdown.
“The Trump Administration is putting the interests of the American people first,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told The Associated Press after reports confirmed visa entry may be denied to immigrants who might be obese. “This includes enforcing policies that ensure our immigration system is not a burden on the American taxpayer.”
However, Trump’s actions reveal the health and interests of the American people are a very low priority for him, especially his long-term obsession with eliminating Obamacare, not to mention his refusal to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the recent government shutdown.
Trump, who guzzles Diet Coke and devours McDonald’s food on a regular basis, was classified by his own doctor as obese in 2019 with a BMI of 30.4, reported Politico at the time.
But earlier this year, his doctor claimed that Trump lost 20 pounds and now has a BMI of 28 which makes him overweight and not obese. But many Americans do not believe his doctor.
“Well trump is obese. Maybe we should kick him out,” said a commenter who goes by Barb Clauss on X.
“Trump probably falls into the morbidly obese category himself. So Tubby Trump should probably sit this one out,” wrote another.
“By trump’s own guidelines he wouldn’t be allowed to enter the US! He is obese and may have heart disease! The guy is clueless of his own appearance!” added Kay.
The new directive issued last week by the State Department was sent to every U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulate in the world, according to The Associated Press, which obtained the cable even though it is a classified text-message between the government and foreign embassies.
“You must consider an applicant’s health,” the cable reads, according to KFF Health News.
The KFF Health News articles states that about ten percent of the world’s population has diabetes, describing the disease as one of the “globe’s leading killer.”
But it fails to mention the United States has the third-highest rate of diabetes in the world with more than 15 percent of the population afflicted with the disease, according to Statista, a German company specializing in gathering statistics. Only Turkey and Mexico rank ahead of the United States.
The United States is also ranked tenth the world when it comes to obesity behind smaller island nations like American Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands, according to World Obesity.
Trump’s response to the backlash didn’t help matters. On Monday morning, he fired off a post on Truth Social blaming “fake media” for miscontruing his message only to double down on the exact talking points.
“They have even come up with a term for these people, “High Calorie Humans.” This is TOTALLY FALSE,” he began.
“We will not ban all fat people from entering our Great Country, only those whose poor health will overburden our health care system. Visa applicants who are only slightly overweight have nothing to worry about. The bigger ones will need to trim down to get approved,” Trump added with an insult to comedian Rosie O’Donnell for good measure. “Rosie, you will never return to This Great Country.”
“I really really thought this was SATIRE. Does the man have a mirror????” asked one shocked reader on Threads.
Immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. are already screened for communicable diseases, like tuberculosis, and asked to disclose any history of drug or alcohol use, mental health conditions or violence, and are also required to have a number of vaccinations.
But the new directive has added more medical conditions that could disqualify visa applicants, including high blood pressure, cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases; depression; anxiety; and mental health conditions that can require “hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of care,” reports the Associated Press.
It also directs government officials to view an applicant’s finances, including bank statements and assets to determine if they would be able to pay for their health care.
“Does the applicant have adequate financial resources to cover the costs of such care over his entire expected lifespan without seeking public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization at government expense?” is a question listed in the cable that consular officers are being told to ask immigrant applications, NPR reported.
Immigration attorney Charles Wheeler told NPR the cable’s language appears at odds with the Foreign Affairs Manual, the State Department’s own handbook, which says that visa officers cannot reject an application based on “what if” scenarios because it allows immigration officers to develop “their own thoughts about what could lead to some sort of medical emergency or sort of medical costs in the future.”
“That’s troubling because they’re not medically trained, they have no experience in this area, and they shouldn’t be making projections based on their own personal knowledge or bias,” Wheeler said.
