Suddenly Trump Looks Older and More Deranged
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Four days after the end of the Republican National Convention, it suddenly looks like a very different event. I watched it intermittently, on television, along with perhaps 25 million other Americans (a relatively small number, though enough to matter). I focused on the highlights, like most viewers did. I read the analysis and thought I understood what had happened. But in the light of President Joe Biden’s brave and unprecedented decision to drop out of the race, my memory of what Donald Trump and his party were doing and saying has permanently shifted. I suspect this will be true for at least some of the other 25 million of us too.
Whatever happens next, the frame has altered. Now it is the Republicans who are saddled with the elderly candidate, the one who can’t make a clear argument or finish a sentence without veering off into anecdote. Now the Democrats are instead proposing something new. Now it is the many pundits who were already bored by the race and ready to wrap it up who look foolish.
Remember, if you still can: The Republican convention was a carefully curated, meticulously planned presentation. As my colleague Tim Alberta has said, the theme was “strength.” Strength was expressed by exaggerated, absurd, comic-book figures: Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock. The latter chanted “Fight, fight!” and “Trump, Trump!” while pumping his fist. Then he sang “American Bad Ass,” an unlistenable work of profound dissonance. Trump himself walked into the convention hall to the strains of James Brown’s famously misogynistic anthem “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”
Read: This is exactly what the Trump team feared
Strength was implied by the equally choreographed demonstrations of debasement. Nikki Haley, who had repeatedly questioned whether Trump is “mentally fit” to be president—and had declared that “the first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate” will win the election—offered her “strong endorsement.” The vice-presidential nominee, J. D. Vance, who had previously compared Trump to Hitler and described him as “ cultural heroin ,” performed a kind of kowtow, appearing at the convention in the form of supplicant, acolyte, prodigal son. Like so many other Republicans, he bowed to the power of Trump, to the vulgarity of Hulk Hogan, to a whole host of things he used to say he didn’t like, and maybe still doesn’t like. He even made a peculiar, strained attempt to link his children and his wife, the daughter of South Asian immigrants, to a cemetery in East Kentucky where he said they will be buried, as if none of this will make sense until all of us are dead.
But then Trump himself appeared, and it was as if the emperor with no clothes had taken the stage. There was nothing strong about an overweight, heavily made up yet nevertheless shiny-faced elderly man who rambled and babbled for an hour and a half, completely undermining the slick image created in the previous four days. He began by sticking to his script, solemnly referencing the failed assassination attempt against him days before. But even when telling that story, he could not master the appropriate tone and almost immediately changed the subject. “And there’s an interesting statistic,” he said: “The ears are the bloodiest part. If something happens with the ears, they bleed more than any other part of the body. For whatever reason, the doctors told me that.”
Eventually, instead of sounding like an “American Bad Ass,” he digressed into pure gibberish . One example:
They’re coming from prisons. They’re coming from jails. They’re coming from mental institutions and insane asylums. I—you know the press is always on because I say this. Has anyone seen The Silence of the Lambs ? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’d love to have you for dinner. That’s insane asylums. They’re emptying out their insane asylums. And terrorists at numbers that we’ve never seen before. Bad things are going to happen.
Another:
In Venezuela, Caracas, high crime, high crime. Caracas, Venezuela, really a dangerous place. But not anymore, because in Venezuela, crime is down 72 percent. In fact, if they would ever in this election, I hate to even say that, we will have our next Republican convention in Venezuela because it will be safe. Our cities, our cities will be so unsafe, we won’t be able—we will not be able to have it there.
On Thursday evening, this performance seemed deranged, sinister, and frightening. Now, following Biden’s decision to halt his own campaign, it just looks deranged. On the one hand, we have a sitting president who understood his limitations and, in an act of patriotism, selflessness, and party unity, decided to step away from power. On the other hand, we have a former president clinging to power, holding on desperately to the myth of a lost election, evoking the same predictable descriptions of carnage and disaster he served up eight years ago. Today, he is still attacking Biden, who is no longer his opponent.
Read: A searing reminder that Trump is unwell
In retrospect, the Republican Party’s convention looks not just staged but also hollow and false. By contrast, the Democratic Party’s convention will be substantive and maybe even spontaneous. In the hours that have passed since Biden’s announcement, a million different Kamala Harris memes, music mixes, and clips have appeared online, not orchestrated by her campaign or by any campaign, just put together by random people, some of whom like her and some of whom do not. One mash-up of her wackier speeches, her laugh, and a Charli XCX soundtrack had 3.4 million views by this morning. We don’t know yet whether Harris will be the candidate or, if she is, whether she will be a good one, but the energy has already shifted from the men trying to impose their image of their party on the country to online Gen Zers who can flip the script any way they want.
I don’t know what will happen next, and that’s the point. The heavy sense of inevitability that surrounded the RNC has lifted. The cadres of people organized by the Heritage Foundation and a dozen offshoots, all quietly preparing to dismantle the rights of American women, to replace civil servants with loyalists, to take apart pollution controls, and to transfer more money into the hands of Trump-friendly billionaires—they are no longer marching inexorably toward the halls of power. The people who spent a week trying to bend reality to fit their flawed, vengeful candidate became too confident too soon.
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Panic cares not who it besets.
I saw some book author on TV saying that trump is looking pretty bad now without the make up...
I believe the words sallow, gaunt and yellowish is what he used to describe the make up free subject of his interviews...
I've actually met trump back in the early part of this century at a motivational speaking tour he was in. I won the ticket in a sales contest, otherwise I wouldn't have gone. I couldn't go wash my hand soon enough after I shook his.
What made you shake his hand?
the ticket included a VIP meet and greet. he was in the reception line with the rest of the speakers...
the sales dept I was in was pressuring the staff to attend to buy tickets for the event because it would be so beneficial to our sales performance. I was vocal in my opposition to attend at a previous sales meeting with the logic that if the event was so beneficial, why wasn't the company paying for it? that statement made in the sales meeting by one of their top reps befuddled management and I then miraculously won an obscure made up sales award in the next meeting, which was the ticket. my trainee also won a VIP ticket and trump said something I considered sexist and totally unprofessional to her in the same reception line. she ended up quitting soon after.
Seems to me that you could have made a statement by refusing to shake his hand instead of going along to get along.
she was beside me next in line, I had already shaken his hand. I wanted to gank the asshole right then.
Not sure thats possible.
What's going on today with MAGA, is tea party fascism to the tenth power.
Trumps speeches today are eerily very similar to Hitler's from the thirties. Fascism never dies. It just hides under a rock until hate of the 'other' becomes popular again.
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Trump has done gone round the bend. Trump's elevator does not reach the top floors anymore. Trump's butter slipped off his biscuit. He is not playing with a full deck. His cornbread is not done in the middle. Trump is plain off his goard nutters!
a festering boil on the ass of america...
A couple cans shy of a six pack.
And it gets worse, exponentially, as months goes by.
Biden doesn't have dementia near as bad as Trump does.
Biden, however, cares enough about America to stand down.
Trump, however, only cares for himself.
Thanks for you medical opinion.
Spent fifteen years as a paramedic. Who better than me?
Saw crazy every day.
Trump is the epitome of a narcissistic psychopath.
It doesn't surprise me at all that a republican would try to kill him.
Trump is destroying the gop with his far-right wing insanity.
... that attracts others with mental issues.
Someone with access to:
Are you confusing dementia 3.2 with mental illness?
It doesn't surprise me that you see the assassination attempt as politically motivated.
They could still remedy that - run his ass off the ballot.
Thats Trump's version of a clever ad lib.
Assassination attempt
Trump: “There’s an interesting statistic, the ears are the bloodiest part. If something happens with the ears, they bleed more than any other part of the body.”
Mostly True.
Trump said that in reference to the injury he sustained to the top of his right ear during the assassination attempt at his July 13 rally.
Although the ears do bleed heavily, PolitiFact could not identify statistical evidence that they are the “bloodiest part” of the body.
The ear gets most of its blood from a branch of the external carotid artery. An injury to an artery is prone to heavier bleeding, according to a study published in the European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery.
But other parts of the upper body might bleed more from an external injury, doctors said.
“The scalp is perhaps the most ‘bloody’ part of the body if injured or cut,” Céline Gounder, a physician, senior fellow at KFF and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, told PolitiFact in an email. “But, in general, the head/neck is the ‘bloodiest’ part of the body. The ear is part of that.”
“An injury similar to what Trump sustained to the ear would bleed less if inflicted on a part of the body below the neck,” Gounder added.
I will let the reader decide this one.
I see now that the FBI doesn't believe Trump was shot or contacted by a bullet.
More like he was splashed by blood and bone fragments from the spectator who died about 8 feet away from the former POTUS.
His physician stated that there was no wound only irritation and possible welling.
The "Ear Bag" came off after a week and the ear seemed 100% normal.
There are (incredibly) no photos of the wound and no one at the Butler hospital will speak about the incident at all.
I wonder how many votes in swing states that will change?
But Ronny Johnson-Jackson said there was a two cm flesh wound from a bullet. It must have been immaculately healed.
Awesome, I’m eight years younger but don’t heal so fast.
Maybe Jesus just doesn’t love you as much as Trump.
funny how almost assassinated felon trump is reluctant to cooperate fully with the FBI investigation ...
Maybe doesn’t love me at all.
That probably depends on the next pearl of wisdom from JD Vance, the Senator
who wants people with children to not have to pay the same taxes as childless people.
One wonders which useful campaign idiot will tell JD about The Child Tax Credit Act part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997.
I’m his favorite atheist. I just know it.
Bullet or piece of bone from someonelse's skull, I guess it doesn't matter
but I read Jackson said there was only swelling, no sutures needed.
I’d like to see a map showing the shooter’s position and the victims’ locations. That must all be top secret or something.
Why would the Biden Administration be over classifying this?
I saw that map in an online article several days ago. I looked up the location on google maps, while I was watching it play out on TV, when a lady said she thought the shots came from the water tower. there was some different video available online of the perp catching a few slugs from ground level, and one from what had to have been an elevated security camera. maybe check youtube.
We are already there:
“ Former president Donald Trump was shot in the ear by a bullet or a bullet fragment during the assassination attempt at one of his campaign rallies, the FBI said Friday,
A Washington Post analysis of photos and videos of the shooting found that former president Trump’s injury appears to be consistent with the attributes of a graze wound from a bullet and not that of bullet fragments, according to two trauma surgeons, Babak Sarani, director of trauma and acute care surgery at George Washington University Hospital, and Joseph Sakran, director of emergency general surgery at Johns Hopkins. The physicians reviewed the Post’s analysis.
The investigation is ongoing.
But they didn't inspect the victim ?
Isn't that like one of us diagnosing Biden's or Trump's dementia by what we see on TV?
As of Wrays testimony, they had 8 cartridges but had not accounted for all 8 "landings".
Seems simple enough. He was on a roof, prone facing the stage.
The direction is obvious.
Maybe he fired at the counter sniper team and a couple rounds went high and far far away?
I know, apparently Jd Vance doesn't.
Who gives a fuck? A registered republican fired shots at Trump.
Seems republicans do that sort of thing on a regular basis.
That’s just your bias running away with you.
As an old fighter I'm here to say that the forehead bleeds into the eyes. Hard to fight blind.
Best to destroy the enemy's eyes and throat as soon as possible.
Yup, Donald Trump is now the oldest candidate. And J.D. Vance is the youngest candidate.
But Donald Trump cannot become the oldest President even if he wins reelection. That's Joe Biden's footnote in the history books and no one can take that away from him.
thats wrong
Wrong
If Trump is elected he would be the oldest ever to be elected PotUS, beating Biden's record by 5 months.
Trump was born June 14, 1946 which would make him 78 on Nov 5, 2024
Biden was born Nov 20, 1942 which made him 77 on Nov 3, 2020
Which means that at the end of that term he would be the oldest PotUS in US history.
I am rooting for Biden to keep the record.
Biden will be age 82 years and 2 months if he stays in office till the next inauguration. Biden will be the oldest sitting President on record.
Trump would be age 82 years and 7 months at the end of a second term. But Democrats are planning to throw Trump in prison long before he could finish his 2nd term. There will, at the least, be a midterm impeachment. Adam Schiff will be in the Senate so a conviction shouldn't be a problem. Are Democrats really going to break another promise?
Do you realize that you are simply stating what I have already stated?
Do you also realize that your prior claim ("But Donald Trump cannot become the oldest President even if he wins reelection. ") is incorrect?
I'm so butt hurt. Donald Trump scores another achievement that Joe Biden cannot match. You've said so yourself. I'm wrong.
The reality is that you are begging people to not take your comments seriously.
... ancient history, as far as I'm concerned.
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This seems to be a popular spin regarding President Biden stepping aside.. Why pretend like this is some magnanimous gesture .. the president's party and the media were turning on him acting as if his debate performance was some sort of surprise 'who knew' moment .. what choice did he honestly have? Defending himself was coming across as an angry old guy yelling 'get off my lawn' .. the more people that came forward in support of him stepping down the more humiliated on the world stage he was.
If not for contracting COVID would he have stepped aside?
I wish President Biden nothing but the best - perhaps if the people around him had been more honest with him, he might not have decided to run for reelection. Guess we will never know.
Clearly the last thing Biden wanted to do was step aside. But the mounting pressure finally convinced him that he was not going to win the election.
He could have stayed in the race and split the D party and basically cause a bunch of pointless chaos or he could step aside, endorse Harris, and give the party a fighting chance.
I think it is reasonable to give the man credit for stepping aside. He should have never run for a second term and that is his own fault. But sucking it up and stepping aside rather than fight against the odds goes against his grain and I will give him credit for finally doing so.
Besides, it became 'painfully' obvious that age/ageism was being used to destroy Biden's candidacy in the media. . . . The man looking forward would be under a 24/7 'spotlight' of:
1. What did he just say?
2. Look at how he walks!
3. Look at those 'age spots' popping up all over him!
4. Look he's asleep!
5. "Great Grandpa!"
6. He's fallen (and can't get up)!
7. He's back at Walter Reed for what (next/now)?
8. He can't keep up with his cabinet!
And so forth and so on.
Who needs it? Just go on let the mantle of president pass to the next generation and go enjoy his 'flowers' while he yet lives!
What reason has he given for stepping aside?
Why is it in the best interest of his party and the country that he stand down? That's going to be the question that keeps getting asked. A majority of Americans already know why but he's going to have to answer that question. And so is she....
Because it was unlikely that he would recover from his debate performance coupled with the fact that when a candidate's own party start publicly calling for him to step aside, that is poison to a campaign ... especially in a close election. All the GOP had to do was produce campaign ads with Ds calling for Biden to step down. Poison.
The best thing Biden could do for his party and the nation is to enable a situation where the D party wins the presidential election.
That's a few of the symptoms, not the prognosis that a majority of Americans made...
After re-reading the letter, it's interesting that he put party before country, don't you think?
You are now speaking for the majority of Americans?
I think you are reading too much into the letter.
As political strategist James Carville rightly stated (it turns out): 'Give the people somebody they want as a candidate." In this case, past the baton.
Do you discount all the polls that showed a majority of Americans and Democrats even, thought Biden was too old to run again?
Maybe maybe not, perhaps the president should address his reason for withdrawal. I would think at least some of his voters would like to know as well.
No, why would you ask such a question? Did you fundamentally misinterpret what I wrote? Clearly Biden's age has been a major factor ... even in the 2020 election. It has been the dominant criticism of him all along.
Biden's age is the key contributing factor to his poor debate performance and his subsequent inability to recover from it thus triggering calls for him to step aside. Given Trump is a mere 3½ years younger than Biden, Biden's age would not be nearly as much of a factor if not for the manifestation of it:
Then why would you ask me if I'm speaking for a majority of Americans?
No doubt that is the reason...
You used vague language instead of stating that the majority of Americans thought he was too old.
Then you come back with a specific statement and pretend I objected to that.
No doubt what is the reason for what?
why would you ask such a question?
They are upset that the only logical plank they had (Biden is old) is now gone. Now they have to grasp at straws with little time, so they’ll resort to the sexist and racist attacks against their new foe that they are so well known for. Don’t be surprised when they lose and then claim that Biden dropping out was an illegal means of throwing the election and that Trump is the rightful winner. There is no bottom to the Republican Party anymore.
... back to the basics.
That is exactly the concern. Trump's viability was a function of his opponent. Now instead of running against a diminished old man he becomes the diminished old man (78) who would be the oldest person ever in our history to be elected PotUS (if elected) and is running against a 59 year old former prosecutor, DA, AG, Senator and VP.
We are already seeing it right here. And the 'word salad' attack seems to be their start. Imagine that. They are supporting "Gettysburg, Wow", "the great late Hannibal Lector", "sharks vs electrocution", Bible hawking, Sneaker hawking, ... Trump yet attacking Harris on focus and delivery. This will be a substantial losing proposition for Trump supporters.
I think most of us fully expect that.
The R party is the GOP in name only. Trump has successfully hijacked the GOP. I do not recognize the party anymore.
Maybe if he loses this election MAGA will finally fall apart and the Republican Party can find its way again
The only way the GOP will recover is if Trump loses. But they are so screwed up at this point, they will not likely get back to normalcy until they have a decent candidate who wins the presidency.
I for one do not trust the GOP to be even semi-rational anymore. This truly sucks because with a two party system we need the opposition to keep the party in power in check. I do not want to see the Ds steam roll their agenda but the MAGA-Trump agenda is far worse.
Populism will have to lose in Nov and the next 2 before a real course correct is possible. That includes Congressional races.
I'll be dead by then
agreed. it's going to take several election "republican autopsies" for a party stuck 60 years in the past...
that just makes you barely overqualified to be the GOP candidate now ...
That is the saddest part. Unless you are less than 60 today you might not live long enough to see "trumpism" totally erased.
The "heir" JD Vance is only 39. And there other stains on humanity like that out there. As Devangelical said, this catastrophe has been building for decades.
Well you know the olde sayin':
A penny saved gathers no moss!
I'm 62 and probably not in the best of health. I figure I have maybe 10 more years. I will never see the return of the GOP of my mother's day (dad was a democrat)
This is the REASON for why democrats should do all they can to help proper conservatives get their party back. There should be no room in this for allowing people to be making death threats (calls) to politicians tell them to conform to Trumpism or something bad will happen to them! No tolerance for such bull at all!
you just saw that ?
Does he need a reason?
nope , he could have simply said it was his decision to not continue to run for office and left it at that , but can you imagine the shit show that would have caused with speculation .
Can he reason well, consistently?
Sad that he listed party before country, but him being a democrat, i’m not surprised.
Ridiculous nitpicking.
Only to the belief of liberals.
True patriotic Americans would have put country first
hilarious...
I have been dealing with long covid for the last few years without testing positive recently.
It's a very insidious condition that can destroy one's life. Brain fog, ongoing respiratory problems and general lethargy is ruining my will to exist. And I'm only 69.
I'm pretty sure I had it back at the end of 2/20. I thought it was a severe allergies or a cold/flu. based upon the symptoms, my dr. had scheduled me for a test 15 months later, but I caught it again the week before. it took the rest of the family down for a week, but I only felt iffy for 2 days. we were all current on inoculations. I tested positive twice last year, but no illness.
Friend cjcold, I wish you all the best. . . do stay with this world. I am horrified that something could sap your will to live in this world. I am sending you every goodwill I can muster and push out through this comment into you! May you find the doctors you need to help with your respiratory issues. . . may you find the 'perfect' combinations of foods and herbs which will clear up the mind. . . and above all, may TIME be your friend as the world looks for solutions to long Covid!
COVID can replicate in your gut: Doctor | Cuomo (msn.com)
cjcold, have you seen this video? Check it out and see it through to the end. It may have useful information for your issues.
hang in there, it's about to get really hilarious...
case in point - trump's appearance at NABJ...
there's always something
they're doubled-down, all in, and way too far down the maga rabbit hole to escape...
Morning...so if Trump gets elected President again and serves the next four years...is that it for him??
My understanding your President can only be in power for 8 years?
But does his previous presidency count or can he stay this time for 8 years if he is elected?
Yes. An individual can be elected to the presidency at most two times.
I am sure you know, but people can run for one 10 year term....though I know of no one that has.
Yes, I described that last week. They can finish at most 2 years of the prior president's term and then can be elected twice.
Huh?
See our good friend CB's post 8.2
actually , NO , the twenty second has some limitations that are plain , like if they serve more than 2 years of another's term all it has to be is 2 years and one day and the limitation applies . , they can only run once so that could be a limit of just over 6 years if its before the 2 year mark , after 2 years they can run for 2 more terms , equalling a total of 10 years possibly if they win both elections .
there is no single 10 year term . it is limited to 2 four-year terms and possibly up to 2 years of anothers term if the person is the vice president .
Exactly
I once knew a guy who ran for a half of one 15 year term!
I think that the total time is what he meant by term.
Sorry!
Thanks, but an apology is hardly necessary.
I’m banned from contact with him.
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[✘] Don't believe in second amendment solutions myself, but it seems others do.
Hate breeds hate. Right wingers are always quick to go to the trigger.
they're already threatening civil war and usually they wait until late september or early october...
Although I think it well and good that Biden has stepped aside and Harris is stepping up her game, there is still an election to win.
Several things she must do well to do this:
Right now she must start to and continue to do all of these in order to win. Once we pass the re-energization of the Democrats she must carry the voters with her right through the election and then they will carry her over the finish line. I hope I am wrong and the country brushes off the malaise of Trump and wakes to a new day... What was Regan's line, It's morning again in America.
I completely agree.
Shining city on a hill, etc, etc.
Actually, if memory serves, it seems good 'ole John Winthrop, way back in 1630 (or thereabouts) who may have said it first.
Malaise?
You should contact her and let her know this-- I'm sure she is totally unaware of any of this and would be grateful for your expertise!
I am sure that she has much more proficient and adept people advising her.
Kamala has been doing all of that for her whole life. She's squeaky clean.
Might just be the most honest president this country has ever had.
P.S. I like her laugh. She has a great sense of humor.
the legacy of her tie breaking votes in the senate is indisputable...
Isn’t that more of the result of an evenly divided Senate than who the BP is?
I don't know, what's a BP?
blood pressure? Of course, I don't know the context of the comment
A typo for VP
my bad, I foolishly thought an irrelevant question as a reply would be funny.
I can't read so I do not have a clue as to what is going on here.
Just ignore me. I'll show myself out
you didn't miss anything important.
Suddenly? Not to anyone who has been paying attention.
Right! Don't let Donald off the hook. Now let's take some close scrutiny of how his age-spots are progressing, his wrinkles and lines are folding, and his abrupt digressions when he is speaking. . . they are indicative of a mature elderly 78 year old who IF ELECTED will turn 81 years old! I say cut Donald no slack!
No more Mister Nice Guy
No more Mister Clean
No more Mister Nice Guy
They say he's sick, he's obscene
My friend.
a high school hero of mine.
my phone ringtone.
switch out yuppie to maga on his tee-shirt for a lively conversation starter at social events ...
I knew him. I was in a video with him in 1978 that was shown during his concerts.
I saw him in '72 or '73. besides the show theatrics, AC's on stage consumption of budweiser was the most popular topic during our post concert critique session.
The video I was in was for the tour for his "From the Inside" album that he co-wrote with Elton John's lyricist, Bernie Taupin, about AC's stay in an asylum because of alcoholism. I was working with his managers and I was a PA on the shoot, but the producer had me get in costume as one of the other hospital inmates at one point. I was the Archbishop of Canterbury eating a bag of potato chips while AC in a straight jacket was being chased around a garden by a group of hospital orderlies, who were his regular dance troupe, including his wife, Sheryl, who was a nice as could be. She and AC used to come into the office pretty often.
Unfortunately, the video is lost. I checked all over YouTube, but came across information that the video cannot be found. I did find one picture on the internet of me in the costume with AC from that day. One of the roadies was in a chicken outfit and the producer dressed a Napoleon. Fun.
it's in a vault somewhere, probably in AC's basement...
Interesting guy, saw his concert once, Killer Tour, Blue Oyster Cult opened. Think my ticket was around $5.00
I wish it was, but it's not.
He was. Smart and funny, too.
And he came thru it all, still alive and well.
Yes, he is from what I've read recently, and still managing to stay in the media.
His friends call him Vinnie.
Because he is old (the oldest nominee in US history) and is deranged.
But he does have magical healing powers. His ears prove it.
He's a regular Wolverine.
maybe hulk hogan gave him a fake blood bag to break open...
Maybe, and the two shot and one killed helped add to the authenticity.