Trump's Frequent Hospital Visits Raise Concerns
Donald Trump has admitted to undergoing another physical examination at Walter Reed Military Hospital, just six weeks after his previous visit. The frequency of visits by the 80-year-old president is highly unusual, as most presidents typically have an annual checkup. This marks at least the fourth visit to the hospital since he returned to office last January.
Gaffes at NATO Summit Fuel Speculation
The latest hospital visit comes amid a wave of speculation about Trump's mental and physical health following a series of embarrassing gaffes at the NATO Summit in Ankara earlier this week. He was seen struggling to climb the stairs to Air Force One and had to be guided through his red carpet arrival by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Trump Defends His Health
Trump sought to downplay the return visit, stating: 'I do it every six months.' He has begun referring to taking 'six month physicals' instead of annual checkups, with his last visit to Walter Reed on 26 May, just 46 days ago. Trump also claimed he had 'requested another Cognitive Test, three times and I aced them all - Got every question right.' However, the test is not an intelligence test but an assessment used to identify early signs of dementia, and experts say its efficacy diminishes with repeated use.
Rant Against Journalists
Trump's admission came after a fiery rant about New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, whose book 'Regime Change', co-authored with Jonathan Swan, sold more than 300,000 copies in its first week. Despite having sat down with Haberman and Swan for a fact-checking interview ahead of the book's publication, Trump claimed '90% of it is fake news.' He wrote on social media: 'I just finished a perfect physical at Walter Reed, I do it every six months, and I requested another Cognitive Test, the only President to do so, three times, and I aced them all. Got every question right. Few people in Washington DC could do so, including Maggot [his nickname for Haberman], and her flunky associate Jonathan Swan. I would be willing to bet they couldn't get 50% of the questions right. Anyway, don't buy their book, it's garbage!'
