A top doctor called out Donald Trump’s health regimen after the president insisted he takes aspirin against medical advice because he wants his blood “nice and thin.”
Trump, 79, made the remarks during an interview with NBC’s Tom Llamas, saying he has taken aspirin for decades and does not plan to stop.
“I’ve been taking aspirin for 30 years and I don’t want to change it,” Trump told Llamas. “They say ‘take the smaller one.’ I say, ‘Well, I want that blood to be nice and thin running through my heart.’”
When Llamas pressed him on whether that meant he was going against his doctor’s orders, Trump responded, “I do.”
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, cardiologist to the late former Vice President Dick Cheney, questioned Trump’s explanation in a post on X.
“This still makes no sense,” Reiner wrote.
Trump previously told The Wall Street Journal that he takes a higher dose than his doctors recommend, 325 milligrams a day.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump told the Journal in an interview published on January 1. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”
“They’d rather have me take the smaller one,” Trump said. “I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”
Trump was also asked about his overall health as he approaches 80. He said he feels “great” and said he feels like he did “50 years ago.”
He added that he regularly undergoes physical and cognitive examinations.
“I think it’s very important. I take physicals… I take cognitive physicals,” Trump said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Last month, Trump also posted on Truth Social that White House physicians reported he was in “PERFECT HEALTH” and that he had “ACED” his cognitive exam “for the third straight time.”
Trump’s health has drawn increased scrutiny in recent months, with several media outlets reporting on concerns related to his health and mental fitness. According to Zeteo, publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN have examined signs of possible health issues, following earlier reporting by the Daily Beast.
Those reports have described instances in which Trump appeared to fall asleep during Oval Office and Cabinet meetings, drifted off mid-sentence during public remarks, and appeared with recurring bruising on his hand.
The White House revealed last year that Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition in which leg veins have difficulty returning blood to the heart. Officials described the condition as common among older adults and said Trump was taking aspirin as part of his health regimen.
In a previous statement to the Daily Beast, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s condition.
“As the president’s physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, has made clear time and again—and as the American people see with their own eyes every single day—President Trump remains in excellent overall health,” Leavitt said in December.
