After days of speculation over President Donald Trump’s health, he responded to rumors that he had a heart attack on Saturday.
During his Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said that he went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to begin the first part of his annual physical.
“I went for a physical. I came back, and my wife said, ‘Darling, are you OK? … They are reporting you may have had a heart attack.’ I said, why did I have a heart attack? ‘Because you went to Walter Reed Medical Center.’ That’s where we go when we get the physical. I said I was only there for a very short period of time.”
Watch his comments below:
President Trump: "I went for a physical on Saturday…"
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 19, 2019
Full video: https://t.co/BlQAnsnTbl pic.twitter.com/IrF60acAhR
He continued to say that he was shocked to return and hear White House staffers asking if he had a heart attack or some other medical emergency:
“I had a very routine physical, visited the family of a young soldier who was very badly injured. He was in the operating room. I toured the hospital for a little while. I was out of there very quickly and got back home. And I get greeted with the news that, ‘We understand you had a heart attack.’ I was called by our people in public relations: ‘Sir, are you OK?’ I said OK for what? ‘The word is you had a heart attack. CNN said you may have had a heart attack. You had massive chest pains. You went to the hospital.'”
A memo released by the Trump’s doctor, U.S. Navy Commander Sean Conley, refuted speculation that he was treated for a severe medical issue, as IJR has previously reported.
“Despite some of the speculation, the president has not had any chest pain, nor was he evaluated or treated for any urgent or acute issues.”
A video circulated on social media over the weekend showing Trump walking from the White House to the motorcade, apparently accompanied by Conley.
POTUS health. WH says Saturday trip to hospital was “routine” & he’s “fine” despite break from past practices. Here is glimpse of Pres Trump and what appears to be WH physician Sean Conley getting into motorcade. Watch. (h/t @WinstonNBC) pic.twitter.com/8ZynFF2ytQ
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) November 17, 2019
After the visit to Walter Reed, Trump had no public events scheduled on Sunday or Monday, further fueling speculation that something was wrong.
On Tuesday, Trump lashed out, calling the media “sick” and “corrupt.”
“These people are sick. They are sick. The press really in this country is dangerous. We don’t have freedom of the press in this country. We have the opposite. We have a very corrupt media. And I hope they can get their act straightened out. Because it’s very, very bad and very, very dangerous.”
Despite the White House’s categorical denial, it is unlikely to quash speculation about Trump’s health. On Tuesday afternoon, CNN’s Chris Cillizza speculated about his health in a five-minute video questioning White House’s explanation for the visit.
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