White House issueS statement amid Donald Trump health fears | World | News
The White House has been forced to issue a statement after Donald Trump failed to appear in public for a week, reigniting speculation about his health. The US President made no public appearances for seven days after last week’s Cabinet meeting, only resurfacing on Wednesday afternoon to sign an executive order in the Oval Office.
His temporary disappearance fuelled discussions around his health, which have previously been sparked by bruising on his hands and apparent memory loss. Mr Trump was last seen shortly before his fourth medical evaluation of the year, the results of which he described as “extremely good” and “perfect”.
Gavin Newsom, governor of California and vocal Trump critic, was among those sounding the alarm on social media. He wrote: “WHY HASN’T THE CAMERA-LOVING PRESIDENT BEEN IN FRONT OF A CAMERA FOR DAYS ??? ESPECIALLY RIGHT AFTER HIS ‘PERFECT’ PHYSICAL”.
Google searches for “Trump missing” and “Trump stroke” also surged in the days after the president was last seen, according to the Daily Mail.
Responding to the mounting speculation, a White House spokesperson said: “President Trump just participated in a 45-minute wide-ranging interview yesterday, and he will be holding open press events tomorrow and Friday.
“Anyone using the president’s schedule to push left-wing conspiracies is a grade-A moron.”
In his summary of the results of Mr Trump’s latest health assessment, presidential physician Navy Captain Sean Barbabella said the 79-year-old was “demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall physical function”.
However, physicians who reviewed the findings told the Wall Street Journal that the document lacked the level of detail expected in an assessment of cardiovascular health.
They said Mr Trump’s calcium scores, plaque assessments and other indicators used to evaluate the condition of arteries and blood vessels were not disclosed.
Dr William Shutze told the newspaper: “That report is almost too good to be true for someone of his age. This seems to be a filtered narrative.”
But the White House also rejected this criticism, with communications director Steven Cheung responding: “President Trump has publicly released more detailed information about his health than any other president in history – showing he is in excellent health.”
