Trump says he takes more aspirin than recommended: Is that dangerous?

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he consumes more aspirin per day than his doctors advise.

What we know about Donald Trump’s aspirin habit and what happens when he takes too much:

What was Trump’s opinion of aspirin use?

Trump, 79, claimed to take more aspirin than doctors had advised, according to the US newspaper.

Sean Barbabella, the physician who treats the president, claimed that the president consumes 325 mg of aspirin per day for cardiac prevention, which is considered to be at the high end of the recommended dosage.

Trump told the paper, “I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart, but aspirin is good for thinning out the blood.”

“I want thin, nice blood to flow through my heart.” Does that make sense, exactly?

He continued, “They prefer that I take the smaller dose.” The larger one, which I’ve done for years, does cause bruising.

Trump claimed to have been taking more aspirin for 25 years.

Joe Biden, who was 82 when he took office and withdrew from his re-election campaign in 2024, is the second-oldest person to hold office in the US because of growing health concerns.

After being spotted on Trump’s hands during the summer, concerns about his health also grew.

Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency in July, which a “benign and common condition” where damaged veins prevent blood from flowing properly.

According to Leavitt, the bruises were “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation caused by frequent handshakes and the administration of aspirin, a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”

Additionally, it was reported that Trump had undergone an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan in October. The MRI was described as “preventative” by the White House.

Trump and his doctor claimed, however, that he had been given a CT (computed tomography), not an MRI, according to the WSJ report.

“It was not that bad. Trump claimed that it was a scan.

Describe aspirin.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) is aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid. It has antiplatelet, or blood-thinning, properties.

It can be purchased online or through a doctor’s prescription. It is typically prescribed for infections brought on by immune responses, such as pain, fever, and inflammation.

Low doses are also recommended for those at risk of heart attacks and strokes because they help stop blood clots from developing. In order to do this, it blocks the blood cells that control clotting by producing a substance called thromboxane A2 within platelets.

The platelets are clumped together by a thromboxane. There are fewer chances of heart attacks or strokes when the blood flow is blocked by clots, which are the result of both having fewer thromboxane in the body and having less of both.

Are side effects from aspirin?

According to the website for the National Health Service (NHS), the country’s publicly funded healthcare system, mild indigestion and bleeding more frequently than usual are side effects of taking aspirin, according to the website for the NHS.

In the event of severe side effects, such as coughing up blood or yellowing of the eyes, the website advises contacting a doctor.

According to the NHS, taking aspirin for a long time or in high doses can result in ulcers in the stomach or gut.

What is the “normal” daily aspirin dose?

Aspirin is typically available in 300mg tablets, and one or two tablets are typically taken every four to six hours for headaches and other pain or fever.

Adults 40 to 59 who are at risk of cardiovascular disease should start receiving treatment with a much lower dose of 81 mg of aspirin per day, according to the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

An independent panel of experts reviews medical evidence and makes recommendations for preventive health services like medication and screenings.

As a result of the panel’s analysis, the risk of excessive bleeding declines in older adults as a result of taking aspirin.

The benefits decrease as the patient’s age ages, and according to the USPSTF, “clinicians and patients should consider stopping aspirin use around age 75,” according to the USPSTF.

According to the health information website Healthline, doctors can advise people who have had or are at risk of heart attacks and strokes to receive a daily dose of 81 mg to 325 mg.

Is aspirin too much for you?

Clinical pharmacist Dr. Alan Carter wrote an article on Healthline that stated that taking more aspirin than your body can clear can lead to aspirin poisoning.

Depending on how much aspirin is taken and how much weight is being taken, this can be mild, moderate, or severe.

If a person takes less than 300 mg of aspirin per kilogram of body weight at once, they may experience mild poisoning.

If someone ingests 300 to 500 mg of aspirin per kilogram of body weight at once, moderate poisoning occurs. When the aspirin content exceeds 500 mg/kg of body weight, severe poisoning occurs.

According to these figures, taking 45, 000 mg of aspirin in one dose would likely be fatal for a man who weighs 90 kg.

Depending on how well their kidneys and liver manage to process aspirin for a long period of time, “chronic” toxicity may occur in some people.

Burning throat pain, decreased urination, double vision, drowsiness, fever, hallucinations, nervousness, restlessness, ringing in the ears or inability to hear, seizures, stomach pain, uncontrollable shaking and vomiting are symptoms of an aspirin overdose.

Senegal vs Sudan: AFCON 2025 – team news, start time and lineups

Who: Sudan vs. Senegal
What: CAF Africa Cup of Nations
Where: Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier
When: Saturday, January 3, 5pm (16:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 13:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.

As the title favorites Senegal face Sudan, the lowest-ranked side still standing, in the AFCON round of 16, a fight between the heavyweights and minnows kicks off.

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Senegal outlasted the competition, joining the title favorites as the AFCON 2021 champions battled their way to their second title, with the help of Nicolas Jackson and Sadio Mane, who both had strong attacking firepower.

On the other hand, Sudan, which is ranked 117th, needed a helping hand to qualify and will face off in the knockout stages for the first time in 14 years. Sudan’s football team’s progress has defied the ongoing hostility, and reaching the round of 16 is a significant accomplishment.

Everything you need to know about Sudan and Senegal:

What’s happening in Sudan?

Since fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023, Sudan has been ravaged by war.

The conflict, which the UN calls the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” has caused famine in several parts of Sudan, where tens of thousands have been killed, more than 12 million have been displaced, and caused famine in several areas.

Mohamed Abooja, Sudan’s goalkeeper, had to deal with his brother’s agony after the RSF imprisoned him. The team has obviously experienced some impact. Everyone has made an effort to pass this time, but the conflict in Sudan has been difficult, Abooja told the AFP news agency.

Our customers’ happiness and morale are ultimately boosted by our performance on the pitch.

Sudan’s AFCON qualifying round 16 was held in what manner?

The Sudanese national team, one of the four best third-placed teams, made it to the last 16 with a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea, marking only their second-ever victory at the tournament since 1970 when they won the trophy.

Equatorial Guinea’s own goal proved decisive thanks to a moment of good fortune, which added to that historic victory.

How did Senegal get to the 16th round?

Senegal, the second-highest-ranked country in Africa, came in top of Group D with seven points, outpacing DR Congo on goal difference, after two victories and a draw.

They finished the group stage one behind Nigeria with the second-highest goal total (seven), just behind Algeria.

In the following round, who will face off?

On January 9, the Senegalese and Sudanese match winner will travel to Tangier to face the Tunisian and Mali match winner in the quarterfinals.

Who are the top players in Senegal?

In the opening game of the match against Botswana, striker Nicolas Jackson scored two goals, and Cherif Ndiaye also has two goals to his credit, both of which were scored as substitutes.

Along with Senegal’s midfielders Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye, the experienced winger Sadio Mane is another star player.

Mane has scored 17 AFCON goals (10 goals, 7 assists), which is the most by any player since 2010.

Who are the top players in Sudan?

The tournament featured Sudan’s top scorers, midfielders Walieldin Khidir and Ammar Toaifour, as well as defender Sheddy Barglan.

Sudan and Senegal act as guides.

Last match of the week:

Senegal: W-D-W-W-L

Sudan: L-W-L-L-L

  • Senegal are currently winning 14 games (W9 D5) at AFCON.
  • Senegal has kept 17 clean sheets at AFCON since 2017, more than any other team.
  • Sudan has conceded six goals, which is the most of any team’s total for the group stage.
  • Only one of their final seven AFCON matches (D1 L5) came away with a win.

Head-to-head

In seven previous competitive and friendly games, Senegal and Sudan have played each other.

Senegal has won four games and drawn three, and is unbeaten overall.

When did the last meeting between Senegal and Sudan occur?

Senegal defeated Senegal 2-0 to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.

Sudan vs. Senegal: stat attack

Their first AFCON game will be on Saturday, and they will be ranked fifth overall overall.

Senegal has won four matches, drawing one, and never lost to an East African rival at AFCON.

Has Senegal ever captured an AFCON title?

Senegal will make its 18th appearance in the AFCON finals, and their best accomplishment was the 2021 title they won in Cameroon. In 2002 and 2019, they also placed third twice.

Has Sudan ever captured an AFCON title?

This is Sudan’s tenth appearance. Since making their debut in 1957, they have finished second twice, winning only once in 1970 and finishing second in 1959 and 1963.

After receiving a red card in the previous match, Senegal’s captain, Kalidou Koulibaly, a crucial member of their defense, will miss the game against Sudan.

News from the Senegalese team

Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegal’s captain, will miss this game after receiving a red card in their final group game, according to Senegal coach Pape Thiaw.

Senegal’s lineup was anticipated

Edouard Mendy, Krepin Diatta, Abdoulaye Seck, Moussa Niakhate, Ismail Jakobs, Pape Gueye, Ismaila Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye, Sadio Mane, and Nicolas Jackson are just a few examples of them.

news from the Sudan team

Salah Adil, Abo Eisa, and Abuaagla Abdalla, who are both injured, will miss out on Sudan coach Kwesi Appiah.

Sudan’s lineup was anticipated

The ceasefire did what it was meant to do – make Gaza invisible

It seemed like a distant dream when rumors about a ceasefire started to surface in October. Even though we feared believing it, we clung to any thread of hope. We had grown to know about “ceasefires” that never existed for two years.

The streets erupted with cheers and ululations when the announcement was finally made. Yet, I began to worry that this tranquility might just serve as a pause before yet another attack.

My fears were justified. More than 400 people have been killed by Israel’s army so far, and daily deadly attacks have continued. Numerous others have died as a result of Israel’s destruction of the Strip.

Yet, the attention span of the world was starting to wane. I noticed that, starting in November, other Palestinian journalists and writers started to lose interest in what I wrote about in terms of social media and media outlets. Because the general public was quickly persuaded that the war had ended, the world’s interest decreased.

The real purpose of the ceasefire was not to stop the violence or deaths, nor to stop the bloodshed and genocide. The real goal was to stop people from discussing Gaza, the crimes committed there, and the daily suffering of people there.

As other “hot spots” in the world media spotlight have come to dominate, Gaza has now become largely invisible.

Mass murder continues in the interim.

On October 28, the Israeli army launched a massive bombing campaign, killing 104 people, less than two weeks after the ceasefire was declared. My loved ones and I were both deeply concerned about the future.

Israel moved my heart more than it did on November 20. The Abu Shawish family’s home was attacked by the Israeli army in the central Gaza refugee camp. She lost her entire family, along with her sisters Habiba, 11, Tima, 16, and brothers Youssef, 14, and Mohammed, 18, along with her mother Sahar, 43, and Rami, 50, as well as her parents Rami, 50. Despite the fact that the family was all civilians, they were all political prisoners, and were massacred, they were all civilians. Batoul must now face the genocide alone.

The Israeli genocidal strategy was used to create mass death through collapsed buildings, unexploded bombs, floods, hypothermia, starvation, and illness, all of which are continuing. Without adequate food, heating, electricity, or potable water, we continue to struggle.

People are dying from the winter because of it.

Just another storm hit us. Tents were completely blown off. Alaa Juha, age 30, was killed when a wall slammed against her in the rain. Arkan Musleh, a baby who was two months old, passed away from hypothermia. This month’s cold has left 15 people dead overall. When you can’t find a way out of the freezing cold and the flood, it’s difficult to describe the sense of helplessness that permeates your home.

Israel continues to violate the ceasefire through its attacks as well as its refusal to meet its commitment to allow for the agreed-upon number of aid trucks, a complete supply of tents and medicines, shelter materials, and mobile homes.

Israel is also limiting access to international organizations that work to alleviate Gaza’s suffering. NGOs with a size as large as Save the Children are now unable to register under new laws. This stifles international efforts to bring some relief, along with Israel’s ongoing refusal to grant humanitarian requests by NGOs.

Palestinian organizations that are attempting to alleviate our suffering are currently receiving insufficient funding. After the ceasefire was declared, the Samir Project, a donations-based initiative that provides material support to poor families and students, has lost a sizable number of donors and supporters. The project’s director, Dr. Ezzedine al-Lulu, confirmed to me that the decrease in donations has hindered their ability to provide essential assistance.

Israel is also preventing crossing the Rafah border. If you pay exorbitant amounts of money to Israeli-linked war profiteers and agree to never return, you are denied the right to travel outside. More than 1, 000 people have died while awaiting medical clearance from Israel, and over 16, 000 have been prevented from leaving.

Low-grade mass killing in Gaza has reached a new stage of genocide, which is less controversial than carpet bombing campaigns. The end result, however, is the Palestinians’ extermination in Gaza. Politicians in Israel continue to discuss colonizing our land, which is no wonder. They still believe that a Palestinian-free Gaza is a very real possibility that is within reach.

Why I am on hunger strike in solidarity with Pal Action detainees

I know this road. I have its map etched into my bones. I carry scars that won’t heal without justice, without accountability.

I learned it in Guantanamo, when the only thing I could control was my own body.

We were disappeared. Isolated. Forced into silence. Our words were redacted. Our letters were stamped secret. Lawyers were blocked. Time stretched and rotted. No court dates were given. No real charges were made.

I was reduced to a number in an orange uniform, locked in a metal cage. The US government had already named me. “The worst of the worst.” “Terrorist.” “Enemy combatant.” Labels designed to make torture sound necessary.

And torture came. Day and night. Relentless. Mechanical. Meant to break the mind first, then the body. So I stopped eating. Not as a gesture. Not as a plea. I stopped because everything else had been taken from me. My body was the only territory this foreign state hadn’t yet occupied.

A hunger strike is not symbolic. It is not dramatic. That’s a lie sold by the media, by people who have never watched a body collapse from the inside, who turn slow death into headlines and panels and clean sentences.

A hunger strike is a slow, painful journey towards death. It dismantles you piece by piece. Muscles shrink. Vision fades. The heart falters. Organs begin to fail. Every beat is a warning. Every hour drags you closer to death, whether you want it or not.

A hunger strike begins when every other door is slammed shut. When the system makes it clear your life has no value, as long as you stay quiet and obedient. When it looks straight at you and tells you you’re already dead.

So you answer with your body.

At least eight imprisoned pro-Palestine activists in the UK have refused food. One has been on hunger strike for more than two months. Others have passed 50 days without eating. Some have already been taken to hospital. They are scattered across prisons, cut off from each other, torn from their families, buried under the word “terrorist” so cruelty can be dressed up as law.

They are Heba Muraisi, Qesser Zurah, Amu Gib, Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed, Lewie Chiaramello, Jon Cink, and Umer Khalid.

Photos of the eight Pal Action hunger strikers are displayed during an event in Rome, Italy on December 13, 2025 [Courtesy of Mansoor Adayfi]

United Nations human rights experts have expressed grave concern for hunger strikers’ lives. They warned the activists face heightened risks of organ failure, neurological damage, and death without proper medical care and called on the UK government to ensure timely emergency care, to engage with the activists’ demands and to address rights issues linked to prolonged pretrial detention and restrictions on protest activity.

I have been inside this story before. Violent words are meant to strip you of your humanity so the public doesn’t have to feel the sting of your suffering.

When Jeremy Corbyn raised the hunger strike in Parliament, some MPs laughed. Laughed. Not whispers. Not quiet discomfort. But open mockery. Smirks from padded seats while people’s bodies were breaking down in cells. While people were collapsing, being dragged to hospital wards, organs failing. This is untouchable power.

David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, has dodged meeting the families of the hunger strikers. He has avoided even the barest human gesture of listening. Cowardice wrapped in protocol. This is deliberate contempt.

In 1981, during the Irish hunger strike, men were dying in prison cells while politicians dismissed them as criminals, attention-seekers, terrorists. The mockery came first. The jokes. The coldness. The refusal to engage. Then came the funerals. Power always laughs before it kills. Humour becomes a shield for cowardice.

Nothing has changed. The accents are different. The suits are better tailored. The cruelty is the same.

This is not democracy. This is rot at the centre of the state.

We were held for years in Guantanamo without charges, without evidence, without a path to release. In the UK today, people are kept on extended remand, sometimes for years, while trial dates are pushed further away. Time itself becomes the punishment. Time becomes a weapon. A weapon against prisoners and their families.

Isolation comes next.

In Guantanamo, isolation was designed to break us. Months, sometimes years, without meaningful human contact. Silence so heavy it pressed against your skull. A silence meant to erase you. In UK prisons, hunger strikers are separated. Transferred. Harassed. Stripped of routine, stripped of connection. Isolation is framed as safety. It is not. It is punishment. It is control.

Then comes censorship. Letters delayed. Phone calls cut short. Visits restricted. Information filtered. Families left in the dark. Lawyers forced to fight for the barest access. At Guantanamo, every word leaving the camp was monitored. In the UK, the same instinct survives. Control the narrative. Control the person.

Then comes medical coercion. In Guantanamo, hunger strike was met with force. Shackles. Restraint chairs. Tubes forced through noses into stomachs while guards pinned our limbs. They called it medical care. It was violence. Pure, deliberate, crushing violence designed to make resistance unbearable.

The UK likes to pretend Guantanamo was an American mistake. Something distant. Something finished. It was not. It was a laboratory. The experiments were exported. Absorbed. Normalised. And now, they are applied inside their prisons.

You see it in the extended remand.

You see it in the proscription laws twisted to criminalise protest.

You see it in prisons used as warehouses, places to store people indefinitely while the state takes its time building a case.

And you see it in the quiet cooperation between systems. Guantanamo fed the black sites. Black sites fed domestic counterterror policing. The same logic shows up again and again. In places like Alligator Alcatraz in Florida. In British prisons holding political activists under terrorism laws. Different flags. Same playbook.

Abuse travels faster than accountability.

I have watched governments study each other. Share techniques. Refine the language. Learn how to cage people legally. How to stretch the law without snapping it. How to crush dissent while calling it order.

This is not about agreeing with the politics of the prisoners. This is about whether a state is allowed to disappear people before trial, isolate them, censor them, then punish them for refusing to cooperate with their own erasure. If the UK wants to claim it is nothing like Guantanamo, then it has to prove it with action.

End prolonged remand without trial.

End isolation as a response to protest.

Restore full access to lawyers and families.

Provide medical care that protects life, not policies that quietly endanger it.

Listen to the hunger strikers. Meet their families face to face.

Abolish the terror laws used to criminalise dissent, stretch guilt by association, and disappear people behind language instead of evidence.

Force members of parliament to step out of silence and take responsibility.

These are not radical demands. They are the bare minimum. The floor, not the ceiling, for any society that claims to respect human rights.

I am not writing this as an observer. I am writing as someone who has already lived the ending. I am telling you plainly, without euphemism and without distance. Systems like this do not correct themselves. They do not slow down out of shame. They only stop when they are confronted, directly and without fear. Now.

I refuse to be silent. I am joining this hunger strike in solidarity. I do this because I recognise the system at work. I do this because I know Guantanamo did not end, it spread. It embedded itself in other prisons, other laws, other governments that tell themselves they are better. I do this because standing with the oppressed against the oppressor is not symbolic for me. It is a responsibility earned through survival. I do this because I am able to, and because doing nothing would make me complicit.

This hunger strike is not about food. It is about dignity. It is about justice. It is about remand used as punishment, silence used as policy, and a state that believes if it waits long enough, people will break and disappear. It believes silence will protect it, shield it, absolve it. It will not.

I stand with the hunger strikers. I will not look away. I will not soften this. I will not be polite about slow death carried out in clean buildings and legal language.

And I will not let them be erased. Free the hungers strikers!