January 10, 2018
A Philadelphia congressman appeared Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to tout the bill he introduced this week that challenges President Donald Trump's mental fitness for office.
And wouldn't you know it, Brendan Boyle appeared to take another not-so-subtle shot at the president right out of the gate.
"Hopefully I have the best words to describe this," Boyle first said when asked to explain the bill, apparently mocking then-Candidate Trump's infamous "I have the best words" declaration in December 2015.
Boyle, a Democrat who represents parts of Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County, announced on Tuesday that he had introduced the "Standardizing Testing and Accountability Before Large Elections Giving Electors Necessary Information for Unobstructed Selection Act," also known as the "STABLE GENIUS Act."
In response to questions over his mental state after a number of recent Twitter outbursts, Trump tweeted on Saturday that his personal success and ultimate election qualifies him as "not smart, but genius...and a very stable genius at that!"
Boyle's bill, which stands little chance of passing through a Republican Congress, would require presidential candidates to undergo a medical examination that would be publicly disclosed before the election.
"President Trump has forced us as the American people to recognize there are some gaping holes in our presidential election system," Boyle told the network. "We thought that it was frankly just always a norm that presidential candidates would release their medical records."
Thanks @Morning_Joe enjoyed the discussion with @morningmika #StableGeniusAct https://t.co/TmaXyHOU53
— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) January 10, 2018
In December 2015, Trump released a letter from a physician asserting that, if elected, Trump would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."
"That aside, we have no medical, physical cognitive information on someone who is now sitting in the oval office," Boyle said.
The president is set to undergo his first medical checkup since taking office on Friday. Trump was 70 when he was inaugurated, making him the oldest president ever elected.
Boyle said on Wednesday that his bill was crafted not only for the sitting president "and his rather bizarre and eccentric behavior," but also for others who may take office in their 60s or 70s.
The public should have access to records on a candidate's physical and cognitive fitness before making their choice, he said.
"That is very important. I would've liked to have had that information when it comes to the current occupant of the Oval Office," Boyle said. "But we need to make sure we finally fix what is now quite clearly a glaring hole in our system."
Watch Boyle's interview here:
