Trump, in interview, defends his energy and health, offers new details
on screening he underwent
[January 02, 2026]
By MICHELLE L. PRICE
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump defended his energy and health
in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and disclosed that he had a
CT scan, not an MRI scan, during an October examination about which he
and the White House delayed offering details.
Trump, in the interview published Thursday, said he regretted undergoing
the advanced imaging on his heart and abdomen during an October visit to
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center because it raised public
questions about his health. His physician said in a memo the White House
released in December that he had “advanced imaging” as a preventative
screening for a man his age.
Trump had initially described it as an MRI but said he didn't know what
part of his body he had scanned. A CT scan is a quicker form of
diagnostic imaging than an MRI but offers less detail about differences
in tissue.
The president's doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, said in a statement
released Thursday by the White House that Trump underwent the exam in
October because he planned to be at Walter Reed to meet people working
there. Trump had already undergone an annual physical in April.
“President Trump agreed to meet with the staff and soldiers at Walter
Reed Medical Hospital in October. In order to make the most of the
President’s time at the hospital, we recommended he undergo another
routine physical evaluation to ensure continued optimal health,”
Barbabella said.
Barbabella said he asked the president to undergo either a CT scan or
MRI “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues” and the results
were "perfectly normal and revealed absolutely no abnormalities."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement
Thursday that the president’s doctors and the White House have “always
maintained the President received advanced imaging” but said that
“additional details on the imaging have been disclosed by the President
himself” because he “has nothing to hide.”
“In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little
ammunition,” Trump said in the interview with The Wall Street Journal.
“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.”
The 79-year-old became the oldest person to take the oath of office when
he was sworn in as president last year and has been sensitive to
questions about his health, particularly as he has repeatedly questioned
his predecessor Joe Biden's fitness for office.
Biden, who turned 82 in the last year of his presidency, was dogged by
scrutiny of his age and mental acuity at the end of his tenure and
during his abandoned attempt to seek reelection.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Israel's
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 29,
2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
But questions have also swirled around Trump's health this year as
he's been seen with bruising on the back of his right hand that has
been conspicuous despite a slathering of makeup on top, along with
noticeable swelling at his ankles.
The White House this summer said the president had been diagnosed
with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition among older
adults. The condition happens when veins in the legs can’t properly
carry blood back to the heart and it pools in the lower legs.
In the interview, Trump said he briefly tried wearing compression
socks to address the swelling but stopped because he didn't like
them.
The bruising on Trump's hand, according to Leavitt, is from
“frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin,” which Trump takes
regularly to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
He said he takes more aspirin than his doctors recommend but said he
has resisted taking less because he’s been taking it for 25 years
and said he is “a little superstitious.” Trump takes 325 milligrams
of aspirin daily, according to Barbabella.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t
want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump said. “I want
nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”
Trump, in the interview, denied he has fallen asleep during White
House meetings when cameras have caught him with his eyes closed,
instead insisting he was resting his eyes or blinking.
“I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me,” he said. “Sometimes
they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch
me with the blink.”
He said that he's never slept much at night, a habit he also
described during his first term, and said he starts his day early in
the White House residence before moving to the Oval Office around 10
a.m. and working until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m.
The president dismissed questions about his hearing, saying he only
struggled to hear “when there’s a lot of people talking," and said
he has plenty of energy, which he credited to his genes.
“Genetics are very important,” he said. “And I have very good
genetics.”
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