WASHINGTON – Sometimes it seems like hardly an hour can pass without hearing from President Donald Trump. So when he didn’t show up for one day, then two, then three, online speculation about his health began to circulate.
Even a few sightings of the president at his golf course over the weekend weren’t enough to stop the social media rumors driven by political adversaries. Trump addressed it directly Tuesday at his first public appearance in a week.
“How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead?” asked Fox News’ Peter Doocy. “Did you see that?”
“No,” the 79-year-old Trump answered simply. The senators and administration officials alongside him for the Space Command headquarters announcement shifted their weight and grinned.
The president said he wasn’t aware that people were wondering if he had died, but he had heard there were concerns about his health.
“I was aware they were saying things like: ‘Is he OK? How is he doing? What’s wrong?’” Trump said, labeling the speculation as “fake news” and claiming he “was very active over the weekend.”
Recently, Trump has been seen with bruising on the back of his right hand, sometimes poorly concealed with makeup, and swelling around his ankles.
The White House has confirmed Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, meaning veins in the legs cannot effectively return blood to the heart, leading to pooling in the lower legs. This is a relatively common condition in older adults.
Regarding the bruising, press secretary Karoline Leavitt attributed it to “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin,” which Trump regularly takes to decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Trump pointed out Tuesday that he gave a few interviews during the days when he wasn’t appearing publicly, plus he was posting on Truth Social, his social media site. He wrote some “long Truths,” as the posts are known, and some “pretty poignant Truths.”
In one of those posts, from Sunday, he said he “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.”
In the past, Trump has been less than transparent about his health.
After he announced his first campaign, in 2015, he released a hyperbolic letter from his doctor saying “his physical strength and stamina are extraordinary” and he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
In 2020, the White House withheld some details about Trump’s hospitalization with COVID-19, such as a concerning drop in his blood oxygen levels. It was later revealed that the president was much sicker than the White House let on.
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