By James Fitzgerald The world views US President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a renowned leader who steered America through the Great Depression and second world war, but during his tenure the public was scarcely aware that he was unable to walk unaided — after being struck by polio in 1921— and was wheelchair bound behind closed doors. The Secret Service would routinely seize and destroy photographs that showed him in a weakened state and the press were asked to portray him as strong and virile. And so the illusion of physical stature endured. Today the media has a quite different relationship with POTUS, and yet here again the public is faced with illusory narratives that rely on the same tricks and omissions. On October 2, President Trump was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after being diagnosed with Covid-19 the previous day. The First Lady, Melania, had also…