The president was in Florida over the weekend to attend regional events, including a PGA tour game at his Doral golf club. On Saturday, a report from the White House press pool noted that Mr Trump went to visit his local dentist in Florida for a scheduled appointment.
Back in January, Mr Trump made a similar visit to his Florida dentist, even though the White House has its own dental clinic on-site, USA Today reports.
Donald Trump (Matt Rourke/AP)
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – May 5th
Other presidents have used the White House operatory, including Joe Biden when he needed a root canal.
The Independent has asked the White House for comment.
Mr Trump, who will turn 80 next month, has been the subject of numerous health-related issues. Earlier this year, bruising around Mr Trump’s hands drew speculation that he was suffering from some malady. There has been a constant stream of commentary concerning Mr Trump’s mental state since his return to the White House.
Presidential health trackers are also pointing to Mr Trump’s swollen ankles – photographed again during his weekend trip to Florida.
On Saturday, Mr Trump was photographed with his son, Donald Trump Jr. His swollen ankles visible in the photos are likely the result of chronic venous insufficiency, which he was diagnosed with last July. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “CVI damages those valves, causing blood to pool in your legs”.
“This increases pressure in your leg veins and causes symptoms like swelling and ulcers,” according to the hospital.
In January, Mr Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he’d tried using compression socks to help treat the issue but stopped because he “didn’t like them”.
Mr Trump has made some unusual medical choices in the past. Most notable is his use of aspirin. Mr Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin every day, according to the Daily Beast. That’s four times the doctor-recommended dosage.
When asked why, Mr Trump said it was because aspirin was “good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart”.
Mr Trump has previously blamed the bruising on his hands partly as a side effect of his aspirin use, while the White House previously explained it away by saying the discolouration was caused by frequent and vigorous handshaking.
Despite the continuous questions about his health, Mr Trump has insisted he is perfectly healthy, both mentally and physically. During a fundraising dinner earlier this year, Mr Trump mentioned his former White House doctor, Ronny Jackson – who is now a Republican congressman from Texas – and said the physician told him he was “by far” the healthiest of the last three American presidents.
Mr Trump has also complained about footage of him closing his eyes for prolonged periods during press conferences in the Oval Office, saying photographers had caught him while he was blinking. He also told The Wall Street Journal that he sometimes closed his eyes because “it’s very relaxing for me” and said that some meetings were “boring”.
One of Mr Trump’s previous doctors, Harold Bornstein, gave the then-candidate a glowing health report, predicting that the Republican “will be the healthiest individual elected to the presidency.”
Mr Bornstein, who died in 2021, later claimed that Trump himself had written the report, telling CNN: “He dictated that whole letter. I didn’t write that letter. I just made it up as I went along.” (© The Independent)