Trump says health is ‘perfect’ amid aging concerns
In a long interview about his health, US President Donald Trump said that he takes more aspirin than doctors recommend, that he uses make-up to cover the bruises on his hands, and that he does not exercise regularly because he finds it “boring”.
Trump also told Wall StreetJournal He said he had a CT scan in October after falsely telling reporters he had undergone a more detailed MRI scan.
At 79 years old, Trump is the oldest inaugurated president in US history and is showing signs of aging. He was sometimes seen falling asleep in meetings and not being able to hear questions.
The Journal said Trump “expressed discomfort with the public discussion about his health,” which he described as “excellent.”
“Let’s talk about health again for the 25th time,” he said at the beginning of an “impromptu phone call” as the newspaper prepared to publish a story about Trump’s health.
“My health is excellent,” he added.
Trump said he has been taking more aspirin than recommended for the past 25 years, but that it causes him to bruise easily.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning the blood, and I don’t want thick blood flowing into my heart,” Trump said.
He sometimes takes 325 mg of aspirin a day instead of the 81 mg dose doctors recommend.
“They prefer me to get the smaller one,” Trump said.
But after all these years, he doesn’t want to change his routines. “I’m a little superstitious,” he said.
The president also talked about the medical scan he received at Walter Reed National Medical Center, which he previously said was an MRI scan.
“This was not an MRI,” Trump told the Journal. “It was less than that. It was a sweep.”
Trump’s doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbaella, told the Journal that Trump underwent a CT scan “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues,” and the tests did not reveal any abnormalities.
After Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition common in the elderly, he was advised to wear compression stockings, but he refused.
“I don’t like them,” Trump said, adding that he now gets up from his desk more regularly, which has reduced the swelling in his legs.
Still, the president said he prefers not to do any regular exercise other than golf.
“I don’t like it at all. It’s boring,” Trump said. “Walking on a treadmill or running for hours on a treadmill like some people do is not for me.”
The president said he does not nod during public meetings and sometimes closes his eyes because he finds it “relaxing.” As for the bruises seen on his hands in some photos, Trump said he now wears make-up in case he gets “hit” on his hand.
“I have a make-up that’s easy to do, takes about 10 seconds,” she said.
Trump stated that he did not have a hearing problem and said that when photographers took pictures of me while I was sleeping, “sometimes they took pictures of me blinking.”
“And they’ll catch me in the blink of an eye.”
Barbabella told the Journal that Trump “is in exceptional health and perfectly fit to perform his duties as Commander in Chief.”
