What did Donald Trump do today?

He blurted out private information about a Congressman's medical condition so he could claim to have saved him.

Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) has been rumored to be gravely ill, to the point where there was uncertainty that he would serve out his term. But other than announcing his retirement at the end of his current term, and saying that he would finish out that term, he's made no public comment on his health.

At an appearance today with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump made those public comments for him. He brought up Dunn's health and prodded Johnson to tell what he knew: "We had one man who was very ill. It looked like he wasn’t going to make it. I don’t know. …Do other people know his name? Huh? Do you want to mention it? He’ll be proud. Go ahead, tell them — tell them the story.”

Johnson, off microphone, was clearly trying to deflect Trump, and when pressed gave a very vague statement about unspecified concerns.

Impatient with that, Trump blurted out that if it hadn't been for surgery Dunn had recently undergone, "he'd be dead by June." The audience groaned as Johnson said, "Okay, that wasn't public."

Trump then took credit for Dunn's improvement, boasting that he'd gotten Dunn the surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which is indeed one of the best hospitals in the country. It's where Trump himself was saved from a near-death experience with COVID, and for several other mysterious and unexplained medical events during his time in office. But as a retired Army surgeon himself, Dunn would not have needed Trump's intervention to get care there. 

Trump concluded his exposure of Rep. Dunn's medical situation by explaining why he cared: not just because he likes Dunn, but "because I needed his vote" in the closely divided House of Representatives.

Trump's own visibly declining health has been a constant concern during his time in office, and especially in the past year. But unlike his revelations about Dunn, both Trump and his staff have gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal and deny those issues.

Why does this matter?

• It's hard to think of a shittier thing to do than tell the whole world about someone's private medical information for a laugh, assuming Trump knew what he was saying. 

• Veering suddenly into inappropriate comments and not being able to read obvious social cues is not a sign of good cognitive health in an elderly person.