Rep.Ted Lieu of California, seen in a February photo, offered some wild speculation as to why President Donald Trump cancelled a ceremony Wednesday. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)
By Michael Schwarz June 24, 2026 at 3:54pm
When it comes to opposing President Donald Trump, Democrats regard themselves as unrestrained by truth or common decency.
Still, each time you think they have reached the bottom, they descend to new depths of audacity.
In a clip posted Wednesday to the social media platform X, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California, speaking to reporters, recklessly speculated that Trump might have abruptly cancelled a housing-bill signing because the president has received a “special new drug” to treat a “terminal illness.”
After complaining about inflation, which he and other Democrats ignored during former President Joe Biden’s administration, Lieu raised questions about why Trump cancelled the signing.
“Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Is he unable to stay awake today? What’s causing him to chicken out again? Is it Taco Wednesday, or is it side effects from a drug? We don’t know,” the congressman said.
On social media, Trump indicated that he will not sign the bill until Congress passes the SAVE Act.
“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” the president wrote Wednesday morning on Truth Social.
Should Rep. Ted Lieu apologize?
On Tuesday, the House passed the 21st Century Road to Housing Act by a bipartisan majority of 358-32. The Senate had already approved the bill on Monday.
Thus, one may argue that Trump has embarked on a dangerous game of chicken by linking housing to election integrity. But one cannot suggest, as Lieu did, that the president did not explain the cancellation.
Still, Lieu persisted.
“This erratic behavior of the president is very concerning,” the congressman added. “He has trouble staying awake at multiple White House events and Cabinet meetings. He has clearly some weakness in one of his arms. He’s got swelling in his hands. And the White House needs to come clean.”
Lieu, already on shaky ground, proceeded to venture into unhinged territory.
“What we know,” he continued, “is there’s a report saying that one person in America got this special new drug — it was a 79-year-old person who is very high profile — and this drug can only be given to someone under the compassionate-use provision, meaning you do that if someone, basically, has a terminal illness.”
On Sunday, the health-focused news outlet STAT reported that pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly and Company has already allowed one “well connected” man, who was 79 years old at the time of the request in April, to receive a powerful new obesity drug called retatrutide under the Food and Drug Administration’s “compassionate use” program, which allows access to experimental treatments for patients with life-threatening conditions.
Trump turned 80 on June 14.
“So, we need to know,” Lieu said, “did Donald Trump get this special drug from Eli Lilly? And did he get it under that provision? And if he did, why is that the case?”
.@RepTedLieu suggests Trump cancelled Housing bill because he got a special new drug for a terminal illness: “The White House needs to come clean…Did Donald Trump get this special drug? pic.twitter.com/ug6tlsSEwr
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 24, 2026
One hardly knows where to begin describing the gall Lieu exhibited.
First, one marvels at any Democrat who, with a straight face, can raise the issue of the president’s health after four years of covering up Biden’s cognitive decline. That alone makes Lieu little more than a tone-deaf source of unintentional comedy.
Second, when it comes to work ethic, Trump runs circles around congressional Democrats and Republicans. He always has.
Finally, Lieu speculated about Trump’s “terminal” condition based on one piece of evidence: a report about a “well connected” 79-year-old man. One could hardly imagine a flimsier basis for advancing such speculation in public.
In 2025, congressional Democrats refused to acknowledge the families of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungary, two of many young American women and girls murdered by illegal immigrants.
Then, earlier this year, elected Democrats snubbed the mother of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death by a repeat offender.
In other words, while displaying their hatred of Trump, Democrats have sunk to unfathomable depths. Lieu’s performance at Wednesday’s press conference merely provided one more example.
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Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
