By Nandita Bose and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed reports on social media that he is in ill health, saying he was busy over the Labor Day weekend giving media interviews and visiting his Virginia golf course.
“I was very active over the weekend,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Asked if he was aware of the reports, he called them “fake.”
Trump, 79, in January became the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency.
Speculation about his health swirled on the social media platform X over the weekend, with posts citing Trump’s lack of a public schedule late last week and a USA Today interview with Vice President JD Vance published on Thursday.
When asked during the interview if he was ready to assume the role of commander in chief, Vance said he was confident Trump was “in good shape” but also suggested he was prepared to step in if anything happened to the president.
Before Tuesday, Trump’s last extended exchange with reporters came during a cabinet meeting a week earlier. Trump led the more than three-hour session on August 26, his longest on-camera appearance as president.
Over the Labor Day weekend, reporters saw him leaving the White House each day to visit his golf course.
Trump underwent an extensive physical examination on April 11 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Washington. It found he had a normal heart rhythm and no major health problems, according to official results released by the White House.
On July 17, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump was experiencing swelling in his lower legs and bruising on his right hand after photos showed him with swollen ankles and makeup covering part of his hand.
His physician, Sean Barbabella, said in a letter released by the White House that tests confirmed the leg issue was due to “chronic venous insufficiency,” a benign and common condition, especially in people over 70.
The doctor said the bruising on Trump’s hand was consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and aspirin use, which Trump takes as part of a “standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”
Since then, the White House has played down concerns about Trump’s health, without detailing how the leg issue is being treated.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Howard Goller and Nick Zieminski)
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