Vice President JD Vance said that President Donald Trump is in “incredibly good health” but added that he’s ready to step up should tragedy strike before the end of his term.
Vance made the comments in an interview with USA Today published Friday. Vance was asked about Trump, who began his second term at age 78 and turned 79 in June.
“The president is in incredibly good health,” Vance told USA Today. “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 question posed was, given that he’s “one heartbeat away from the presidency” and one of the youngest ever to be second in line, is Vance ready to be commander in chief?
“Yes, things can always happen. Yes, terrible tragedies happen,” Vance said. “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 last month released a memo from Sean Barbabella, physician to the president, regarding 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."
As for 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.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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