Disability Does Not Disqualify

If you are a teacher, doctor, or lawyer, would you want to be told you could no longer do your job just because you had a public slip-up? I’m not talking about making a mistake while on the job. I’m talking about tripping over your own feet, stumbling down a ramp, or falling on your butt. Would you want to be told you are no longer qualified to do your job or pursue your passion because you are human? Probably not. 

In June of 2020, videos of President Trump drinking from a glass of water and walking down a ramp went viral as questions were raised regarding his health and ability. The few seconds of video were scrupulously analyzed by the media on both sides of the aisle, some saying this proved he was unfit to be President. 

On Friday, March 19, history repeated itself. The entire world watched as President Joe Biden repeatedly stumbled while going up the stairs towards Air Force One. Again, the media had a field day. The video went viral and Twitter went ablaze. People called him weak, said he humiliated the country, and, again, deemed him unfit and unable to be President. 

I’m sorry... what?

People trip. People stumble. People fall. It’s normal. It’s human. Presidents are human. 

Making fun of the President of the United States, claiming he is unfit for the position for being human, reinforces the false narrative that people with disabilities cannot and should not be in positions of leadership or power. It is why President Kennedy, who got the country through the Cuban Missile Crisis, downplayed his Addison’s disease, going so far as to deny it all together. The American electorate in 1960 did not know how debilitating the disease was on the then candidate. It is why President Franklin Roosevelt, who led the country through World War II, went to great lengths to conceal his polio and paralysis. The American people did not know FDR used a wheelchair until after his death. When photographed while seated, he was in a normal chair with his legs hidden behind a desk or blanket. When walking, he would wear leg braces and lean on a cane or another person for support. Why? Why did these two Presidents have to go to great lengths to conceal their disabilities? Because we live in a society that believes if you are disabled, you are weak, that you cannot succeed, and that you should not lead. 

I don’t think that if the electorate in 1932 or 1960 knew about FDR’s and JFK’s disabilities, they would not have been elected and I think they knew it. Do I think they were concealing their disabilities and diseases with malicious intent? No. I think they did it out of necessity. I think they believed they were the best person for the job but felt they would not be given a chance to prove it because all their voters would see is their disability. The American public believed then and believes now that in order to be in a position of power and leadership that you cannot be weak, you cannot be disabled. 

Regardless of where one may fall on the political spectrum (PUN INTENDED), how they walk down a ramp, hold a glass of water, or fall up the stairs does not mean they are incompent, handicapped, or disabled. It means they are human. What the mainstream and social media are forgetting in their in-depth analysis of a few seconds of video footage is that while President Trump stumbled, he kept going, while President Biden fell, he got right back up. By jumping to conclusions and declaring they are unfit to lead, society and the media are perpetuating the narrative that those who trip, who stumble cannot lead and that is simply not true.