The US President also denies falling asleep in public meetings, saying he sometimes rests his eyes or is pictured blinking
Donald Trump has revealed he takes a higher dose of aspirin than his doctors recommend, which he said causes him to bruise easily.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” the US President told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Thursday.
“I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”
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“They’d rather have me take the smaller one,” Trump added. “I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”
In recent months questions have swirled over the health of Trump, who at 79 is the second-oldest person to ever hold the presidency.
Pictures showing bruises on his hands have fuelled speculation over his well-being, as well as instances where the President closed his eyes during public events.
Bruises were spotted on Trump’s hands when he met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in 2025 (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty)
He also reportedly underwent an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan in October, which the White House said formed part of his “routine yearly checkup”.
Trump said at the time that the MRI “was perfect”.
However, when asked about the MRI, Trump and his doctor, Sean Barbabella, told the Wall Street Journal that the President underwent a CT scan.
Barbabella said Trump’s doctors had initially said they would perform either an MRI or a CT scan but decided to do the latter “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues.”
It revealed no abnormalities, according to Barbabella.
When asked about reports that he had appeared to fall asleep during public events, he told the paper: “I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me.”
“Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”
Last year, the White House said Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which is common in elderly people, and the bruising was from “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin”.
Barbabella told the Wall Street Journal that Trump takes 325mg of aspirin daily for cardiac prevention.
Daily use of aspirin can lower the chances of heart attack or stroke for people over the age of 60, according to the Mayo Clinic, which says a low dose of aspirin is most commonly 81 mg.
Barbabella said that Trump “remains in exceptional health”.
With agencies