Trump blasts ‘sick media’ over health

FURIOUS: PRESIDENT SAYS REPORTS SCARED HIS WIFE

Hospital visit on Saturday was ‘routine, planned’, according to his physician.

An angry President Donald Trump yesterday accused the “sick” media of scaring his wife Melania with reports of his poor health, following a surprise weekend hospital visit.

Speculation has swirled around the 73-year-old’s health since he made a sudden trip to a government hospital outside Washington on Saturday.

He spent just over an hour having “examinations, labs and discussions” at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, his physician Sean Conley said in a statement issued by the White House.

“Due to scheduling uncertainties, the trip was kept off the record,” Conley said, describing the checkup as “routine, planned”.

The White House’s explanation that Trump underwent part of his annual medical exam at the facility failed to quell entirely the questions.

Trump, however, exaggerated the nature of the speculation, saying that the media reported him having a heart attack.

There were scattered online rumours of a serious heart issue, but media outlets focused on the unusual circumstances of Trump’s trip to the Medical Centre, because it had not been publicly scheduled.

“I went for a physical,” Trump said in furious comments to journalists at the White House.

“I came back. My wife said, ‘Darling, are you okay, what is wrong? They’re reporting you may have had a heart attack’,” he said

“I was called by our people in public relations: ‘Sir, are you OK? CNN said you may have had a heart attack. You had massive chest pains’.”

Trump said of the media. “They’re sick. And the press really in this country, is dangerous .... We have a very corrupt media and I hope they can get their act straightened out.”

Trump’s personal physician, who issued a denial of anything serious on Monday, said Trump “has not had any chest pain, nor was he evaluated or treated for any urgent or acute issues.”

Conley added: “Specifically, he did not undergo any specialised cardiac or neurologic evaluations.”

Trump spokeswoman earlier said he was taking the unusual step of undergoing a first stage of his annual checkup early because he will be busy in his 2020 reelection year.

She said Trump’s frequent “vigorous” appearance at campaign rallies indicated his strong health.

His last annual checkup was conducted nine months ago.

In 2018, Trump’s then-chief physician Ronny Jackson, held an unusually detailed press conference in which he declared Trump to have “incredibly good genes”.

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