The White House called the visit an "interim checkup" - though it was unusual, coming just nine months after his previous exam - and rejected speculation about any "urgent or acute issues."Ī spokeswoman insisted that Trump had more energy "than anyone in the White House." Speculation had been fueled last November, when Trump made an unscheduled and secretive visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Trump has repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19.
Side effects of the drug include dizziness and nausea. That appearance also came at a time when Trump said he had been taking a course of hydroxychloroquine, a drug he believed could help fend off the coronavirus, despite a lack of medical evidence.
Late last month, Trump seemed to have trouble standing still during a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, though some commentators said he might simply have been weary. Related Video: Vaccination and the Immune System Reporters at the scene said the weather was dry and the ramp not particularly steep. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. "The last thing I was going to do is 'fall' for the Fake News to have fun with. "The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery," Trump said. Since Trump has regularly mocked the health and acuity of his presumptive election opponent, Democrat Joe Biden - who is three years his senior - the question of physical fitness could weigh heavily in the campaign ahead.Īfter a widely circulated video on Saturday showed Trump walking tentatively and unsteadily down a long ramp after delivering a commencement speech at West Point, he took to Twitter to issue an explanation. Results of a routine physical released early this month showed he was overweight - 244 pounds (110 kilograms) - but with otherwise normal test results.īut his appearance Saturday at the US military academy in West Point, New York raised new questions about apparent signs of unsteadiness, balance problems and trouble enunciating certain words. Scrutiny of a president's health is always intense, and Trump has generally appeared vigorous for his age. Washington (AFP) - As US President Donald Trump turns 74 on Sunday, an incident a day earlier in which he appeared unsteady on his feet has revived questions about his health as he heads into a grueling re-election campaign.