5 takeaways from Trump's defiant WSJ interview on his health
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President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House last year. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Trump dismissed concerns about his health related to his age during a Wall Street Journal interview published Thursday, declaring: "My health is perfect."
Why it matters: The 79-year-old last year became the oldest president ever to be inaugurated and questions have been raised about his health similar to those faced by former President Biden, 83 — whom he mocked during the 2024 presidential campaign as feeble and confused before his predecessor dropped out of the race.
- Trump's WSJ interview marked one of the most in-depth yet on the health of a president who would become the oldest sitting commander-in-chief at the end of his second term.
What he's saying
Health scrutiny: Trump expressed regret about having advanced imaging in October because of the ensuing scrutiny he faced.
- "In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition," he told the WSJ of the cardiovascular and abdominal scan he underwent.
- "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?' Well, nothing's wrong."
Zoom in: After earlier saying he had an MRI scan during his October medical exam at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Trump told the WSJ that he had a CT scan. His doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, concurred.
- "It wasn't an MRI," Trump said. "It was less than that. It was a scan."
Flashback: Barbabella, said in October that Trump's second medical exam at Walter Reed since returning to office included "advanced imaging," without elaborating further.
- Trump told reporters later that he had a magnetic resonance imaging scan, which uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of organs and tissues within the body.
- He pledged in late November to release his "perfect" MRI results, adding: "It was just an MRI. ... It wasn't the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it."
Trump's hand bruises: During the interview, Trump blamed his years of taking higher doses of aspirin for "cardiac prevention" for bruises on his hand last year that sparked rumors about his health.
- Trump said his doctors would rather he took a lower dose. "I take the larger one, but I've done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising," he said.
On sleep health: Trump pushed back on recent images appearing to show him falling asleep on the job and said it can be "very relaxing" to sometimes close his eyes.
- "Sometimes they'll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they'll catch me with the blink," he said of photographers.
- Trump said he's "never been a big sleeper," though he admitted to asking staff to reduce his schedule for efficiency reasons that were not related to his age.
On hearing concerns: Trump denied having any hearing issues, but said he can struggle to hear "when there's a lot of people talking."
On his overall health: Trump described exercise that's not golf as "boring."
- He said he took after his parents, who remained energetic into their older years.
- "Genetics are very important," he said. "And I have very good genetics."
Go deeper: Trump says higher aspirin dosage behind hand bruises
