Trump: ‘My Health is Perfect’—President Reveals Aspirin Habit, Ditches Exercise, Brushes Off Age Talk
Source: BBC
In a long interview about his health, US President Donald Trump said that he takes more aspirin than doctors say he should, puts makeup on his hands to hide bruises, and doesn’t exercise regularly because he thinks it’s “boring.”
Trump also told The Wall Street Journal that he had a CT scan in October, even though he had told reporters before that he had a more detailed MRI scan.
Trump, who is 79 years old, is the oldest person to ever be sworn in as president of the United States. He has looked like he was falling asleep in meetings and not being able to hear questions at times.
The Journal said that Trump was “irritated” by the public debate about his health, which he called “perfect.”
“Let’s talk about health again for the 25th time,” he said at the start of a “impromptu phone call” as the newspaper got ready to publish a story about Trump’s health.
He then said, “My health is perfect.”
Trump said that for the past 25 years, he has taken more aspirin than is recommended, even though he said it made him bruise easily.
Trump said, “They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood going through my heart.”
Instead of the 81mg dose that doctors sometimes recommend, he takes 325mg of aspirin every day.
“They want me to take the smaller one,” Trump said.
But he doesn’t want to change his routine after so many years. He said, “I’m a little superstitious.”
The president also talked about the medical scan he got at Walter Reed National Medical Center, which he had said before was an MRI scan.
“It was not an MRI,” Trump told the Journal. “It was less than that.” It was a scan.
In a statement to the Journal, Trump’s doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbaella, said that Trump had a CT scan “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues.” The test showed no problems.
Trump was told to wear compression socks after being diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older people. He said no.
“I didn’t like them,” Trump said. He also said that he now gets up from his desk more often, which has helped with the swelling in his legs.
The president said, though, that he doesn’t like to do any kind of regular exercise other than golf.
“I just don’t like it.” Trump said, “It’s boring.” “Some people walk or run on a treadmill for hours and hours. That’s not for me.”
The president said he has never fallen asleep during a public meeting. He said he sometimes closes his eyes because it “relaxes” him. Trump said he now carries makeup with him in case his hand gets “whacked,” which is why some photos show bruises on his hands.
He said, “I have makeup that is easy to put on and takes about ten seconds.”
Trump said he doesn’t have trouble hearing, and when photographers have taken pictures of him when he looks like he’s sleeping, he said, “Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking.”
“And they’ll catch me with the blink.”
Barbabella told the Journal that Trump is “in exceptional health and perfectly suited to execute his duties as Commander in Chief.”
