Trump Says He’s Not Sleeping in Meetings, Just ‘Blinking’
Barf Bag: This is just one of the revelations that 79-year-old Donald Trump provided in an interview with the Wall Street Journal for a story on his health.
Photo: Getty Images Politics
The oldest president in U.S. history has given us some more insight on why he has gigantic bruises on his right hand: He’s taking about four times the recommended amount of daily aspirin for cardiovascular health, and he’s been on the regimen for decades.
That was just one of the revelations that 79-year-old Donald Trump provided in an interview with the Wall Street Journal for a story on his health. The outlet reported that Trump is showing signs of aging in public and private, like difficulty hearing, appearing to fall asleep during televised events, and delicate skin on his hands. Trump countered that he’s blinking, not sleeping, that he wishes he hadn’t gotten that medical imaging this fall, and that overall, he has “very good genetics.” Also: he tried compression socks for his cankles but didn’t like them.
Trump’s physical and mental health has been a topic of news coverage in large outlets like the New York Times, and the president has taken personal offense. Recall that, last month, Trump said on Truth Social that he believed it is “seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean ‘THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.’”
This time around, Trump spoke to the reporters directly, and his doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella provided written comments to the WSJ. The president said he takes a more-is-more approach to preventive aspirin use. “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?” Doctors do recommend preventive aspirin, but not after age 70 because it can do more harm than good due to the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke.
Barbabella said Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin a day; the standard low-dose regimen is 81mg. Trump told the paper that doctors recommended he lower his dose of aspirin, but he ignored the advice in part because he’s been on that dose for—wait for it—25 years. “I’m a little superstitious,” he said, adding, “they’d rather have me take the smaller one. I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”
When reporters first asked about the makeup-spackled bruises in February, White House mouthpiece Karoline Leavitt said they were from “shaking hands all day every day.” In July, the White House added that a contributing factor was “the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regime.”
Whether it’s a matter of aging, or that plus the aspirin, Trump also has literal thin skin. The WSJ wrote that “his skin is so delicate that Pam Bondi, now his attorney general, caused his hand to bleed when she nicked him with her ring while giving him a high-five at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee….The cut alarmed some who witnessed the exchange, according to a person with knowledge of the episode.” When asked about it, Trump said: “The ring hit the back of my hand, and, yes, there was a slight little cut.”
As for the photos and videos of him appearing to fall asleep at public events, Trump took a page from grandpas everywhere and said he’s resting his eyes. “I’ll just close [my eyes]. 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.”
Trump denies what we've all seen with our own eyes — that he regularly falls asleep during on camera events — instead saying he's just "blinking."“Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.” (4/6)
Trump had a “secondary” physical in October, on top of his annual one, and told people at the time that he got an MRI. Barbabella said in early December that the MRI imaging was done on his heart and abdomen as part of a preventive screening. But now, he and Trump told the WSJ that it was actually a CT scan. And we’re supposed to believe them?
The president added that he regrets getting the scan because it gave his opponents “a little ammunition.” He said, “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.”Nothing’s wrong—he just walks and talks and posts like that, and it’s all perfectly normal!
Breaking News: Area Woman Wears Well-Made Shoes. (By the way, the boots were on loan from the brand.)
Controversial take but I agree that if you have even center left politics you should be barefoot wearing a barrel with suspenders. You should have a wallet with a single moth and nothing else in it. You should be slicing up a single bean paper thin and eating it slowly on a trash can lid
— Alex Degen (Magic Serple 2025) (@adactivity.bsky.social) 2026-01-01T17:49:47.190Z
More barf:
- The U.S. surpassed 2,000 measles cases in 2025, the first time in more than 30 years. The country is on the verge of losing “elimination” status, meaning the disease is no longer considered eradicated. [ABC News/NBC News]
- Trump delayed by one year the increase of tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities. The price hikes will conveniently hit after the midterms. [Associated Press]
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning a $100 million ad campaign to hire 14,000 new employees. The agency is calling it a “wartime recruitment” and plans to target people at NASCAR races and gun shows. [Washington Post]
- Before the Kennedy Center board voted to illegally add Trump’s name to the building, it adopted bylaws that limited voting to presidentially appointed trustees—aka they rigged the vote. [Washington Post]
- CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss made a passive-aggressive invite for George Clooney to visit the newsroom after he said she is “dismantling” the network. [Variety]
- Bigots lost their minds that a Muslim was sworn into office with his hand on a copy of the Quran. [The Hill]
- In related news: Disgraced former Congressman George Santos said he moved out of New York City. [Threads]
This has been your Friday Barf Bag, thanks for reading!
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