Left-wing website under fire after saying Trump may have STD

Left-leaning political website and magazine The New Republic published an article Friday, without any clear evidence, that alleges President Donald Trump may be suffering from syphilis, and people are not happy about it.

"Many mental health professionals believe the president is ill. But what if the cause is an untreated STD?" writes Dr. Steven Beutler, who has "spent over 30 years practicing medicine, specializing in infectious diseases."

People online were quick to rip into Beutler's article and his controversial assessment of the president. Journalist Michael Tracey tweeted in response, "Probably the lowest form of journalism is baselessly proposing psychoanalytical or medical explanations for political behavior."

Click through reactions to article claiming Trump may have syphilis:

"Not sure why we're supposed to defend media when they put out banal malarkey like this," tweeted another user.

Twitter user @JamGrex observed that The New Republic even once criticized GOPers who speculated about former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's health, tweeting, "This is coming from the same site that complained when the right questioned Hillary's health."

In the article, Beutler argues that Trump has "commonly recognized symptoms" for the STD such as "irritability, loss of ability to concentrate, delusional thinking, and grandiosity. Memory, insight, and judgment can become impaired. Insomnia may occur. Visual problems may develop, including the inability of pupils to react to the light."

Even though Beutler does acknowledge he can't answer for sure if Trump suffers from "this condition," he basically contradicts himself by saying he "cannot, of course, establish this diagnosis from a distance," right after essentially writing a diagnosis from a distance.

There's a history of physicians attempting to diagnose politicians from afar, in fact, in 1973, following the 1964 presidential election, the American Psychiatric Association implemented the "Goldwater Rule" which states, "it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement."

But Trump's health has become par for the course for his opponents, and as the New Republic article points out, Sen. Al Franken recently slammed Trump over his health, claiming that 'a few' Republicans are worried about Trump's mental capacity.

Franken continued saying Trump's actions are "not the norm for a president of the United States, or, actually, for a human being."