The TOI Correspondent from Washington: US President Donald Trump lashed out on Wednesday at the growing scrutiny of his health, asserting that he is in great shape and media reports to the contrary are “purposefully negative” hit jobs.The trigger for a blistering presidential reprimand was a NYT story headlined “Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office,” one of several recent articles in the press focusing on his health, concerns arising from inexplicable medical exams and procedures, including an MRI, and signs of exhaustion he has shown in public. “There will be a day when I run low on Energy, it happens to everyone, but with a PERFECT PHYSICAL EXAM AND A COMPREHENSIVE COGNITIVE TEST (“That was aced”) JUST RECENTLY TAKEN, it certainly is not now!” Trump, 79, now the oldest President in US history, said.The US President blamed “creeps” and “radical left lunatics” for the report, singling out NYT reporter Katie Rogers, who he said “is assigned to write only bad things about me” and is a “third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out.” The mostly-liberal US media has recently zeroed in on the President’s health, teeing off from a range of visual cues, from swollen ankles to a bruised hand, from unsteady gait to drooping mouth, to diagnose that he is in decline. Going by his vigorous public schedule and engagements though, he appears as good if not better than most 79-year olds.But social media has been unrelenting in its deconstruction of his health. Photographs from a November 6 Oval Office briefing on drug pricing captured the president with eyes closed for extended periods, prompting speculation of sleep apnea and exhaustion. Cameras have also zoomed in on periodic purple discoloration on his right palm, potentially signaling transfusion and even speculating about neurological events like a transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke). The White House said the bruising is due to too many handshakes. There has also been alarm over an undisclosed MRI scan in October – which Trump himself blurted out – questioning why such advanced imaging was not detailed in the physician’s memo. The October checkup, occurring just six months after a prior one, prompted questions about emerging concerns.Officially, the White House has acknowledged only a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), a circulatory disorder affecting blood flow in the leg veins. Common in older adults with sedentary lifestyles or obesity, it causes leg swelling, pain, and skin discoloration—symptoms echoed in social media analyses. In Trump’s case, it has been managed with compression therapy and elevation, according to his physician.Beyond CVI, his medical history includes persistent cardiovascular risks, with his April 2025 annual physical revealing elevated cholesterol levels (total 223 mg/dL, LDL 143 mg/dL) and a body mass index of 30.4, classifying him as near obese, which didn’t prevent him from taking a crack at Illinois’ overweight governor JB Pritzker on Tuesday. He takes rosuvastatin for cholesterol and aspirin for cardiac protection, alongside medications for acid reflux and sleep issues — all on part with those of his demographic according to his supporters. Trump has brushed aside the growing concerns, insisting that he is working full tilt. Outlining his familiar scroll of achievements, he asserted “to do this requires a lot of Work and Energy, and I have never worked so hard in my life.”
