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In April 2011, online rumors surfaced to the effect that billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump (who was already being spoken of as a potential presidential contender) might be suffering from a genetic disorder known as Klinefelter syndrome. Klinefelter syndrome, also known as XXY, is caused by a redundant X chromosome in males. Whereas women normally have two X chromosomes (XX), and men one X and one Y (XY), Klinefelter sufferers have two X and one Y (XXY), leaving them with a variable array of symptoms including smaller-than-normal testes and abnormally low testosterone. According to the National Institutes of Health: Based on that symptom list, Donald Trump would hardly seem to be a prima facie candidate for an XXY diagnosis. At six-foot-three, he's taller than most men, but Trump is the opposite of infertile (having five children), displays no obvious cognitive disabilities (indeed, he succeeded in being elected to the presidency of the United States), and is anything but quiet, sensitive, and unassertive. However, the case for Donald Trump allegedly suffering from Klinefelter syndrome is not based on observable symptoms, but rather on an obscure, handwritten YXX notation found on Trump's 1968 Selective Service record, which was released by TheSmokingGun.com in 2011: Despite the fact that the chromosomal anomaly associated with Klinefelter is usually expressed in the medical literature as XXY, partisan bloggers such as Darryl Holman of Horse's Ass chose to interpret the YXX entry on Trump's draft record as evidence that Trump may have the syndrome: While we suspect Mr. Holman was not entirely serious in speculating about Trump's chromosomal health, repetition is golden when it comes propagating rumors, and Holman was aided and abetted by his colleague David Goldy Goldstein, who rehashed it in a column in The Stranger: Some rumors, instead of going viral, simply fester (sometimes for years), and that proved to be the case with the claim that Donald Trump has Klinefelter syndrome. It didn't come up during the 2016 presidential campaign (amazingly, given how popular fraudulent medical diagnoses were at the time), but it did resurface amidst the post-election scramble to dig up dirt on the President-elect, in the form of a handy web graphic: Once again, however, despite an exhaustive listing of Klinefelter symptoms, few actually seem to apply to Donald Trump, so the main point of evidence remains the YXX notation on his Selective Service record. Is it plausible to suppose that YXX designates a chromosomal abnormality on his part? Absolutely not. Genetic testing was never a part of a standard military pre-induction physical exam. Moreover, the three-letter code has a standard meaning in Selective Service records, as noted in Trump's own Selective Service classification history: All Selective Service registrants received what was called an X-Y-Z evaluation, which was used by the local draft board to determine their classification (another famous registrant, rock star Ted Nugent, was also given a YXX rating, according to TheSmokingGun.com). After receiving several student deferments between 1964 and 1968, Donald Trump was ultimately classified 1-Y (qualified for service only in time of war or national emergency) for medical reasons (specifically, bone spurs in both heels, according to a 2015 statement from his presidential campaign). A 2015 statement by Trump's physician listed no genetic abnormalities, noting that he was in excellent physical health overall. Given, then, that it was prompted by the misinterpretation of an entry on his Selective Service record, that it is not supported by actual medical records or a physician's diagnosis, and that Trump appears to exhibit few, if any, outward signs of the condition, we find the suggestion that he suffers from Klinefelter syndrome unfounded and more than a little absurd.
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