A new book has brought back President Donald Trump’s health into focus, alleging he altered the location of White House meetings to accommodate age-related hearing issues.
The claims appear in ‘Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump’, written by veteran White House reporters Maggie Haberman of The New York Times and Jonathan Swan of The Atlantic.
According to the book, Trump’s hearing has declined in addition to his apparent memory loss, swelling and bruises. However, the White House has dismissed the allegations and has maintained that Trump remains in “excellent” health.
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Book adds to ongoing health concerns about the President
The book is based on more than 1,000 interviews conducted over two years. The authors say their reporting is based on interviews with administration officials, advisers and people familiar with Trump’s presidency.
According to the interviews conducted by Haberman and Swan, Trump increasingly held meetings in the Oval Office instead of the East Wing because the Oval Office offered better acoustics and allowed him to remain seated.
The authors also claim the president occasionally asked people to repeat questions because of hearing difficulties and experienced moments of fatigue. “He was having trouble hearing, asking people to repeat questions they had just asked,” they wrote.
The book also alleges that some aides privately remarked that Trump “seems old” and that his verbal filter had diminished. Additionally, “whatever thin verbal filter he had in the past was gone,” according to sources.
It further mentions visible bruising and swelling that have previously attracted public attention.
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White House pushes back against health claims
The White House has rejected the book’s portrayal of Trump’s health. Spokesperson Davis Ingle said the president remains energetic, mentally sharp and highly accessible.
“President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration,” Ingle said in a statement quoted by multiple media outlets. He added that Trump continues to work “non-stop” and described him as “the sharpest and most accessible president in American history.”
The administration has consistently maintained that Trump is in excellent physical and cognitive health. Earlier official medical updates also stated that the president was fit to carry out the duties of office.
