Phobias are absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, and anyone who’s battled them or mental illnesses (yo!) can tell you recovery is a goddamned prick and there’s often no “cure” to these things.

But while it’s never cool to make fun of people for things they can’t control, there’s an undeniable, perverse irony in Donald Trump, a dude with a neo-fascist vision of strength who’s also the most powerful person on the planet, needing to be helped down a gentle incline.

The whole thing started when Trump met with British PM Theresa May on the weekend and, before heading down a slope near the White House, clutched her hand. Presumably, it was super goddamn awkward.

And while there are some reports that this was a “chivalrous gesture” (gross), according to ‘The Times’:

“Downing Street officials claimed the president’s phobia of stairs and slopes led him to grab the prime minister’s hand as they walked down a ramp at the White House.”

Additionally, ‘Washington Post’ sources say Trump won’t be spending much time in Kellyanne “Alternative Facts” Conway’s office, on the second floor of the White House, because he “would rarely climb a flight of stairs.”

As Jezebel chronicled there’s also a fuckload of other evidence for this, including photographs, videos, and some weirdly envious tweets about Barack Obama, who I guess is threateningly good at stairs.

And, while some honestly feel a little bit ableist, the tweets have been fucking gold.

Unlike the actual dick-waving “tiny hands” controversy, Trump’s awkwardness with stairs has yet to lead to any asinine displays of fragile masculinity. 

But the minute he inevitably starts running up and down the Air Force One staircase? Then we’ll have him.

Source: Jezebel.

Photo: Getty / Christopher Furlong.

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