White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called out The New York Times and its White House reporter Katie Rogers for suggesting that President Donald Trump is cognitively unwell after previously defending former President Joe Biden’s health.
Rogers and journalist Dylan Freedman authored a story on Tuesday titled “Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities Of Aging in Office,” which suggested that the 79-year-old president has made fewer public appearances and has appeared tired in comparison to his first term, The Daily Caller reported.
Leavitt denied the allegations and pointed out that the story was written by the same reporter who defended Biden’s cognitive health after he fell on Air Force One in March 2021.
“I will point out one fake news story over the weekend before I let you all go from The New York Times that took about one third of the president’s daily calendar and his daily schedule and said that he’s doing less than he did in his first term or he might not be fit for the job. That is unequivocally false and it’s deeply unfortunate that this story was written by the same outlet and the same reporter who wrote this. ‘Biden is doing 100 percent fine after tripping while boarding Air Force One,’” Leavitt said.
“Oh, same outlet, same reporter who wrote that President Trump is not fit for the job. Are you kidding me? You all see him almost every single day. He is the most accessible president in history,” Leavitt continued.
Under Rogers’ byline, the Times published the headline “Biden ‘Doing 100 Percent Fine’ After Tripping While Boarding Air Force One,” which cited Karine Jean Pierre, the then principal deputy press secretary, who argued that Biden fell because of strong wind.
Footage showed Biden falling forward on the steps as he boarded the plane and then appearing to lose his balance again before landing on his left knee.
“It’s pretty windy outside,” the piece quotes Jean Pierre saying. “It’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself. He is doing 100 percent fine.”
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Leavitt argued that the Times and Rogers lost credibility to discuss any president’s health after publishing the headline on Biden.
“Again, same reporter, same outlet who wrote falsely over the weekend that President Trump is not fit for the job. I can assure you he absolutely is. You all see that with your own eyes on a daily basis and the president’s physician has now given you all three detailed reports on the state of the president’s health,” Leavitt added.
The most recent piece on Trump reported that the president holds fewer public events and keeps a shorter public schedule in comparison to his first term.
The story pointed to one instance where Trump allegedly appeared to doze off at his desk during a Nov. 6 event on weight loss drugs.
The story suggested that Trump has been hiding details about the results of his medical procedures.
However, Leavitt said during the press briefing that a magnetic resonance imaging scan in October found Trump is in excellent health.
Following an annual physical examination in April, Trump’s doctor said that he “exhibits cognitive and physical health.”
In October, Trump said that he underwent an MRI during his most recent medical checkup at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center earlier this month and that the results came back “perfect.”
“I did, I got an MRI — it was perfect,” Trump said. “We had an MRI, and the machine, you know, the whole thing, and it was perfect.”
The MRI was conducted at Walter Reed on Oct. 10 as part of a broader medical evaluation that Trump characterized as routine. The White House described it as a continuation of a series of checkups that began earlier in the year, including a full physical in April.
