‘My health is perfect’: Trump dismisses scrutiny of his age and fitness

Despite scrutiny of his occasionally drowsy appearance and the patches of makeup that have recently appeared on his hand, United States President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about his health in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal.

The interview was published in the newspaper’s edition on Thursday. Trump was questioned by the reporters from the Wall Street Journal about his age, fitness, and recent medical conditions in its pages.

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At times, the US president appeared to have had a mild irritability. At the beginning of their conversation, Trump said, “Let’s talk about health once more for the 25th time.”

Trump is 79 years old right now. He will be 82 years old by the time its conclusion, so should he finish his second term entirely.

He would surpass Joe Biden’s previous record set by him as the country’s oldest president ever to hold the record.

Trump has also been subject to scrutiny for his aging body and mind, just like Biden. Trump has been spotted nod off during public appearances since taking office in January 2025, and close-up photos of his hand as recently as December reveal thick patches of makeup.

Trump himself expressed concern in October when he revealed that he had undergone an MRI scan, a method frequently employed to diagnose and monitor serious conditions like cancer, heart disease, and other soft tissue conditions.

Trump’s right hand is covered in make-up as he makes a public appearance in the Oval Office on August 22, 2025 [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters].

Trump insists that “nothing’s wrong,” saying that “nothing is wrong.”

Trump reversed on Thursday, stating that he had received a computed tomography (CT) scan rather than an MRI scan, which offers less detail and is more accurate.

One of his doctors previously referred to the procedure as a CT scan in addition to an MRI.

Trump expressed regret for getting any procedure when it was discussed because it fueled both media speculation and his critics.

Trump told the newspaper, “It’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition.”

“Oh gee, is something wrong with them, because the fact that I took it said, “Oh gee, is something wrong. “,” I said. Nothing is wrong, then, I suppose.

He denied any medical conditions. He told the reporters, “My health is perfect.”

Trump also refrained from claiming that he had snoozed at meetings. The president’s eyelids swelled forward in one instance during Trump’s cabinet meeting on December 2. He sat there as if nodding off.

Trump, however, attributed the media’s failure to spread false rumors in his Wall Street Journal interview. He compared the alleged sleeping incidents to the fact that “sometime they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”

He acknowledged to the newspaper that he had asked White House staff to cut back on his schedule so that he could attend more crucial meetings, but he argued that the decision had no bearing on his level of concentration or alertness.

Trump claimed that he has never been a “big sleeper.”

Trump closes his eyes while attending a cabinet meeting
Trump and the White House hold a cabinet meeting on December 2, 2025 [Brian Snyder/Reuters]

high aspirin dosage

The Journal’s interview revealed that Trump had a lot of aspirin in his system and that was one of the biggest revelations.

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

A heart attack or stroke is occasionally prevented by taking daily aspirin, especially in older people.

Trump claimed to be on the higher end of the spectrum, at least 325mg per day, compared to the Mayo Clinic, while the typical dosage starts at around 75mg.

Trump compared his doctors to his doctor, saying, “They’d rather have me take the smaller one.” The larger one, however, I’ve done it for years.

Trump attributed the high aspirin regimen to making his hands feel bruising-free, which is another source of persistent public scrutiny. When he is “whacked again by someone,” he explained, he uses makeup to conceal his actions.

He said, citing an instance in which Attorney General Pam Bondi accidentally cut his hand with her ring, “I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds.”

Trump, a devoted golfer, also confirmed to the Journal that he does not share Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Pete Hegseth’s enthusiasm for exercise and fitness.

“I simply don’t like it,” she said. Trump called it “boring” and said it. It’s not for me to walk on a treadmill or run on one for hours like some people do.

Trump did, however, make the announcement that the Presidential Fitness Test would be relaunched in public schools in August. This is a nationwide physical fitness test for students in grades K through 12. In 2013 there were no longer any tests for all people, despite the inclusion of more inclusive fitness standards.

Fatphobic remarks made by members of Trump’s administration, particularly those directed at senior military figures with distinguished service, have also been condemned.

Hegseth told hundreds of military leaders at a meeting in Quantico, Virginia, in October that it was “tiresome to look out at combat formations” and “see fat troops” or “to see fat generals and admirals in the halls” when they entered the Pentagon.

Since the tumult of the 2024 presidential election, when Biden dropped his re-election bid due to questions about his age, has become a more pressing issue in the US political sphere.

The then-81-year-old Biden appeared to struggle to finish his thoughts during a particularly disastrous presidential debate on June 2024.

On the campaign trail, Trump, who has faced similar criticism, blasted Biden as “Sleepy Joe,” and he continues to use his Democratic rival’s skill to contrast with his own.

However, as older candidates for office age, questions about aging presidents have long been a source of concern.

Reagan, a Republican, was well known for challenging rumors about his qualifications, especially as he campaigned for a second term in the 1980s. When he left office, he was 77 years old, and by 1994, he had revealed that he had Alzheimer’s disease.

Firework accidents kill two in Netherlands as fire ravages Amsterdam church

In the Netherlands, fireworks accidents have claimed two lives, and there have been reports of violent incidents as the country celebrated its first year. A 19th-century church in Amsterdam was largely destroyed by a fire in a separate incident.

The Neo-Gothic Vondelkerk, a tourist attraction that has dominated the capital city’s central Vondelpark since 1872, was the site of the fire that started early on Thursday.

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The 164-foot tower’s 50-meter height collapsed, and the roof suffered severe damage, but the structure was supposed to remain intact, according to Amsterdam authorities.

Not immediately known what caused the fire. By morning, emergency services had managed the situation.

The church’s fire did not cause any harm.

About 90 homes were temporarily without power, and a large number of apartments in the area were evacuated.

Sparks grew in the flames as a result of strong winds.

According to Dutch media reports, “This monumental church is a very intense and terrible fire,” according to Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema. The immediate residents’ well-being and homes are now our top priorities.

Up until 1977, The Vondel Church served as a Roman Catholic church. It was most recently used for other purposes and special occasions like concerts. The original tower of the church was destroyed in a fire in 1904.

Separately, Nine Kooiman, the head of the Dutch Police Union, reported an “unprecedented amount of violence against police and emergency services” across the nation on New Year’s Eve, when 250 people were detained and in several towns riot police were deployed.

Kooiman claimed that during her shift in Amsterdam, fireworks and other explosives had pelted her three times.

People reportedly threw gasoline bombs at police in Breda, a city in southern Spain.

A 38-year-old man was killed in a separate fireworks accident in Aalsmeer, close to Amsterdam, and a 17-year-old boy from Nijmegen, a town in the east of the nation, according to police. Three people suffered serious injuries.

The Rotterdam eye hospital reported treating 14 patients for eye injuries, including 10 minors. Both had surgery.

The final year since New Year’s Eve 2025 saw the introduction of a consumer-friendly nationwide ban on fireworks sales.

The Dutch Pyrotechnics Association estimates that revelers spent a record 129 million euros ($151 million) on fireworks.

Although some locations had been made firework-free zones, the results appeared to be insignificant.

Up until about 3 a.m., a journalist for the AFP news agency in this area of The Hague reported loud bangs.

Other European nations have reported instances of violence.

Police in Belgium, for instance, made numerous arrests because Belgian officers were targeted with fireworks in Brussels and Antwerp, with a New Year’s ban on their use failing to stop chaotic scenes in both cities.

In the port city of Antwerp, where children as young as 10 and 11 were detained by police using tear gas and setting fire to cars, cars, and trash cans, more than 100 people were detained, according to a spokesperson for the police.

According to the spokesperson, authorities seize a number of “very dangerous” professional fireworks.

Several killed as Iran protests over rising cost of living spread

As demonstrations against Iran’s rising living costs spread to wider areas, at least five people were killed.

At least three people were killed and 17 others were hurt in protests in the Lorestan province city of Azna, which is located 300 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of Tehran, according to Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency on Thursday.

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Online videos that were shared appeared to show gunfire emitted from the streets as people yelled, “Shameless! “Shameless” !

In the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces of Lordegan, about 470 kilometers (290 miles) south of Tehran, two people were reported to have been killed during protests.

According to Fars, “some protesters began throwing stones at the city’s administrative buildings, including the mosque, the Martyrs’ Foundation, the town hall, and banks,” with tear gas in response.

Online videos showed gunfire robbing as demonstrators gathered on a street.

A security force member was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht, according to an earlier report from Iranian state television earlier on Thursday.

According to Said Pourali, the deputy governor of Lorestan province, a 21-year-old Basij member was killed last night by rioters while defending public order.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a volunteer organization that includes the Basij.

The reports come days after shopkeepers began protesting the government’s handling of a falling currency and rapidly rising prices on Sunday.

Iran’s economy is being hit by 40% inflation, and the country’s nuclear infrastructure and military leadership are the targets of the unrest.

Tohid Asadi, a reporter from Tehran, stated that the government has viewed the protests this week with more caution than it has previously done so.

According to Asadi, “the government says it’s working hard to find a solution to the economic strains that people are experiencing.”

Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was taken into police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code, died in those same years as mass demonstrations in Iran.

The most recent protests started in Tehran peacefully and spread to Tehran on Tuesday as students from at least 10 universities joined in.

Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran, has urged the government to take action to improve the economic situation and acknowledges protesters’ “legitimate demands.”

At a ceremony held on state television, Pezeshkian said, “From an Islamic perspective, we will end up in hell” if the issue of people’s livelihoods is not resolved.

Without providing any further details, government spokesman Fatemeh Mohajerani announced on Thursday that the authorities would engage in direct dialogue with representatives of trade unions and retailers.

The authorities have nevertheless pledged to take a “firm” stand and warned against stoking chaos by exploiting the circumstance.

The prosecutor general of Iran stated on Wednesday that “any attempt to use economic protests as a tool of insecurity, destruction of public property, or implementation of externally designed scenarios will inevitably be met with a legal, proportionate, and decisive response.”

Meanwhile, seven people were detained on Wednesday evening according to the Tasnim news agency, who it described as belonging to “groups hostile to the Islamic Republic based in the United States and Europe.”

Brazil’s Supreme Court rejects Jair Bolsonaro’s request for house arrest

Former President Jair Bolsonaro’s defense team requested that he be put on house arrest, but the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court has once more rejected that request.

Bolsonaro, 70, has had numerous hospital stays and stays since last week after receiving numerous treatments for hernia and aggressive hiccups.

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However, a day after filing, his request for “humanitarian grounds” for house arrest was denied on Thursday.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes argued that Bolsonaro already had access to round-the-clock medical care while being held in police custody in explaining the court’s decision.

After serving a 27-year sentence for attempting to overturn his 2022 electoral defeat, the former right-wing leader is currently being held in Brasilia’s federal police headquarters.

De Moraes also questioned Bolsonaro’s health’s need for “humanitarian” adjustments.

The justice stated in his decision that “contrary to what the defense claims, Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s health condition has not improved.”

Instead, his clinical condition improved in the discomfort he was experiencing following elective surgeries, as noted in the report from his own doctors.

Dr. Brasil Caiado speaks after Dr. Mateus Bonomi’s operation on December 29, 2025.

multiple requests

Bolsonaro has reportedly suffered from lingering conditions, including hiccups, related to an abdominal stabbing he survived on the campaign trail in 2018, and this is not the first time the court has rejected a similar petition.

Bolsonaro was taken into custody in November after breaking an ankle monitor, which made it possible for him to stay at home while appealing. In September, he was found guilty.

However, his defense team requested house arrest shortly after Bolsonaro was remanded in custody and issued a warning about the potentially life-threatening conditions that might exist behind bars.

His attorneys wrote that “it is certain that placing the petitioner in a prison setting would pose a serious and immediate risk to his physical integrity and even his life.”

Both that request and a subsequent request in December have been rejected.

However, the Supreme Court granted Bolsonaro’s request to leave prison on December 23 so that he could have hernia surgery.

To treat his persistent hiccups, he traveled to Brasilia’s DF Star hospital for treatment, where he has since gone through additional procedures, including an endoscopy and a phrenic nerve block.

Unrest in the election

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, rose to prominence in Brazil’s far right and presided over the country’s elections from 2019 to 2023.

He was under fire for remarks he made while serving in Brazil’s military dictatorship, which oversaw the country’s ongoing hostility and murders.

He allegedly used his office to doubt Brazil’s electronic voting system’s validity.

Bolsonaro will be unable to hold office for eight years in Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court in 2023, citing instances in which he made erroneous claims about the electoral process on state television and social media.

Bolsonaro faced two-term incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the presidential election in 2022, despite being viewed as the frontrunner.

An October 30 run-off will be held after the race has advanced. With 50.9 percent of the vote, Lula came out on top in the polls, defeating Bolsonaro by less than two percentage points.

Bolsonaro refused to declare his defeat in the aftermath, despite rumors that he might have done it in secret.

In the meantime, he and his supporters filed a legal challenge to the election result, which was quickly rejected due to the “total absence of any evidence.” For the “bad faith” petition, Bolsonaro’s coalition was fined nearly $4.3 million.

However, Bolsonaro’s supporters took to the streets because they unfounded the idea that his defeat was somehow illegitimate. Some roads are blocked. The federal police headquarters was attacked by other people.

A week after Lula’s inauguration, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brasilia’s Three Powers Plaza and seized the Supreme Court, Congress, and the presidency.

Some supporters expressed hope that Lula’s ouster would result in a military coup.

Flavio Bolsonaro holds bobble heads of his father and Donald Trump
On December 19, 2025, US President Donald Trump and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro pose with bobble-head dolls.

Federal police released a comprehensive report accusing Bolsonaro and 36 allies of trying to “violently dismantle” Brazil’s constitutional order in November 2024.

The report provided alleged instances in which Bolsonaro and his supporters discussed assassinating Lula or modifying the election results.

In February, Bolsonaro and numerous other defendants were formally charged with trying to overthrow the 2022 election.

His trial took place despite significant international pressure from right-wing figures like US President Donald Trump, who imposed severe tariffs on Brazil in August in response to the prosecution’s prosecution.

Bolsonaro was found guilty of five counts in September, including a coup d’etat, an armed conspiracy, an attempted abolition of the rule of law, the destruction of public property, and damage to the country’s heritage.

Bolsonaro has consistently denied wrongdoing in the case and compared his prosecution to a political rival’s purges.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, his eldest son, announced last month that he would be running against Lula for president in October, and he continues to be a well-known figure in the right.