Vice President JD Vance said President Donald Trump is in “incredibly good health” but stressed he is prepared to assume leadership if necessary.
In an interview with USA Today published Friday, Vance was asked about Trump’s age; the president began his second term at 78 and turned 79 in June.
“The president is in incredibly good health,” Vance told the outlet. “He’s got incredible energy. He’s the last person making phone calls at night, and he’s the first person who wakes up, and the first person making phone calls in the morning.”
The vice president was asked, given that he’s “one heartbeat away from the presidency” and would be one of the youngest in U.S. history should he need to fulfill the role soon, if he was ready to be commander-in-chief.
“Yes, things can always happen. Yes, terrible tragedies happen,” Vance responded. “But I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term, and do great things for the American people.”
“And if, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days,” he added.
The White House released a memo last month from Sean Barbabella, the physician to the president, addressing mild swelling in his legs and photos that circulated showing bruising on Trump’s hand.
Barbabella said tests revealed Trump had “chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition among people over 70.”
Regarding the bruising, Barbabella said it was “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin,” a standard part of his cardiovascular prevention regimen.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), meanwhile, is supporting President Trump’s idea of holding a presidential-style Republican National Convention before the 2026 midterms.
During an interview on Fox News, Johnson said the president called him and mentioned the idea of Republicans holding a massive convention before the midterms to ramp up energy and excitement for the party to help them keep control of the U.S. House and Senate.
Johnson said Republicans won “every aspect” of the 2024 presidential election and predicted that the GOP is poised to “perform well in next year’s midterms.”
“I was in Detroit yesterday morning. He called me 15 minutes before that truth and he said, ‘Mike, I’ve got a great idea.’ Let’s have it. I’m so excited about this. I said, ‘Mr. President, let’s go.’ Because I think that would be such a great rallying point right before the midterm election for us to tout all the great successes we’ve had to enjoy that,” Johnson said.
“The president loves the idea of it. I do as well. We got to pick the right location. But look, I’m all for it and and I think uh it’s going to be great. Well, let us know the date so we can mark it on our calendars,” he added.
Trump revealed his idea earlier this week on his Truth Social platform. Trump lauded the GOP as “doing really well” and “Millions of people have joined us in our quest to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
“We have raised far more money than the Democrats, and are having a great time fixing all of the Country Destroying mistakes made by the Biden Administration, and watching the USA heal and prosper,” Trump wrote.
“The results are incredible, a record pace!!! In that light, I am thinking of recommending a National Convention to the Republican Party, just prior to the Midterms. It has never been done before. STAY TUNED!!!” he wrote.
Johnson endorsed the convention idea, posting on X, “YES, Mr. President! Let’s go!!!!” with several American flag emojis.
