President Trump has claimed in a new interview that frequent bruising on his hands is due to him taking more aspirin than his doctors recommend, a habit he claims to have engaged in for 25 years because “I’m a little superstitious.”
Trump, 79, also told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday that he regrets undergoing an MRI as part of an October checkup at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center because it gave critics “a little ammunition” to question his health.
“I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’” the president said. “Well, nothing’s wrong.”
If Trump serves out his full term, he would leave the presidency as the oldest man ever to hold that office — narrowly beating the record established by his predecessor, Joe Biden, who ended his bid for a second term amid evidence of severe cognitive decline.
Throughout the first year of Trump’s second term, speculation has grown about his physical condition, triggered in large part by photos of dark bruises on his hands, which the White House has blamed on vigorous hand-shaking in addition to his aspirin regime.
“Let’s talk about health again for the 25th time,” the Journal quoted an exasperated Trump as saying at the start of the interview. “My health is perfect.”
In July, the White House acknowledged that Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a blood circulation issue that has caused swelling in his lower legs.
The president acknowledged that he had tried to wear compression socks to help treat the condition, but later stopped because “I didn’t like them.”
