Trump mocked for tweeting photo of healthcare accomplishments book with blank page

Post comes after president walked out of 60 minutes interview with Lesley Stahl

President Donald Trump is being mocked on Twitter after sharing a photo of a book supposedly filled with his healthcare accomplishments that appears to show nothing but a blank page.

In the post on Twitter, Mr Trump bragged about White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany bestowing a huge book of his healthcare accomplishments to 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl.

“Kayleigh McEnany presenting Lesley Stahl (@60Minutes) with some of the many things we’ve done for Healthcare. Lesley had no idea!",  he wrote.

However, the only photograph that displays the book open appears to expose a page that is blank. Journalists and politicians were quick to point out the detail to the president.

“Lol Lesley Stahl is clearly looking at a blank sheet of paper here,” Vox journalist Aaron Rupar tweeted.  

“The photo Trump posted of Stahl opening the book of healthcare achievements shows her looking at what appears to be a blank page,” NBC News Political reporter Allan Smith said.

Some critics satirically mocked the blank page as a visual representation of what they believed the president had contributed to healthcare.

“It is appropriate that the volumes of books printed by the White House detailing trump's health care plan are all blank,” Democratic New Jersey representative Bill Pascrell Jr tweeted.

“That is a lot of blank paper,” Scott Dworkin, co-founder of the Democratic Coalition, said.

When questioned if the page was blank Ms McEnany told Forbes that the book contains “everything President Trump has signed – executive orders and legislation – to improve healthcare for Americans" during his presidency.

She clarified that all the items presented in the book were in the public domain but were just “compiled in one place in this book."

The incident comes over ongoing speculation surrounding the president's recent interview with Ms Stahl which he angrily terminated on Tuesday.

Mr Trump uploaded to Facebook his 30-minute interview with CBS during which he walked out of the meeting and accused the network of “fake” and “biased” line of questions.

“You brought up a lot of subjects that were inappropriately brought up … right from the beginning,” he told Ms Stahl.  

“Your first statement to me, ‘This is going to be tough questions.' … That’s no way to talk."

Ms Stahl replied: “You’re the president. Don’t you think you should be accountable to the American people?”

During the interview, Mr Trump was challenged about his promise to reveal a healthcare plan in the event he dismantles the Affordable Care Act. The president has yet not unveiled any such plans, prompting criticism from Democrats.

“We will come up with a plan,” he said in the interview.

It's far from the first time that the president has been accused of using seemingly empty documents as props for publicity.

Last month the president was similarly ridiculed for apparently signing a blank piece of paper with a marker in photos taken at Walter Reed military hospital, in an attempt to show him working while fighting coronavirus.

In 2017, Mr Trump showcased documents at a press conference as evidence of the preparations he had made to give over control of his businesses to his sons which appeared to be blank.