Donald Trumpaddressed fresh questions about his health on live television after reporters spotted a dark bruise on his hand during a broadcast from Air Force One, with the US president insisting he is 'very good' but conceding that one day he will have to admit he is 'not feeling well.'
After days of speculation over Trump'scondition, triggered first by footage of him apparently zigzagging as he walked towards Marine One and then by close-up images of his hand showing obvious bruising. Those clips, widely shared on social media, fed into a longer-running argument in the United States over the fitness of older political leaders and whether the public is being given a clear picture of their health.
Trump was mid-flight and speaking to journalists when one reporter, having noticed the discolouration on the back of his hand, cut in with a blunt question: 'Are you okay?' It is the sort of moment most politicians dread. Trump, who tends to treat queries about his health as both a challenge and an opportunity, leaned into it.
Trump: "No president has ever taken a cognitive test except me. I've taken three of them. One in the first administration. They're hard. The first question is easy. You have a lion, a bear, an alligator, and a squirrel. 'Which is the squirrel?'"pic.twitter.com/DfSHUcafVS
'I'm very good,' he replied, before offering his own diagnosis. He said he had 'clipped' his hand on a table, then added that his daily use of what he called 'the big aspirin' made bruises more likely. 'I would say take aspirin if you like your heart, but don't take aspirin if you don't want to have a little bruising. I take the big aspirin,' he said.
According to Trump, White House doctors had told him he did not need the drug. 'The doctors said, 'You don't have to take that, sir. You're very healthy.' I said, 'I'm not taking any chances.' That's one of the side effects of taking aspirin.'
Government sources cited in US reports have previously said Trump takes a 325mg aspirin each day, a dose associated with blood thinning and an increased tendency to bruise. Minor marks on his hands in recent months have also been linked by those around him to constant handshaking at rallies and public events.
Medical opinion in the coverage has been notably less breathless than the online commentary. Dr Helen Wall, an NHS GP and Expert Mental Health Speaker with Champions Speakers Agency, urged people not to jump to conclusions about Trump's health based on a few seconds of video or a patch of bruising.
'I've been a doctor for 20 years, and I think there are a few bits of speculation that just need a little bit of caution applied to them,' she toldMirror US. Age, she pointed out, is not in itself a diagnosis. 'There are lots of people who get into their 70s, 80s, 90s who are perfectly fit and well with no underlying health conditions.'
What does change, she said, is how the body shows wear. 'The skin is aged, the blood vessels are aged. You're more likely to get tired. That doesn't mean you've got an underlying condition.'
Source: International Business Times UK
