Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Newsmax on Wednesday that media attempts to make President Donald Trump appear weak or feeble are themselves weak.
"He's a very strong leader. He is very engaged," Lankford said on "American Agenda."
Nothing gets by Trump, according to the senator.
"He's up on every topic. He wants to talk things through.
"When he's not actually in a meeting face-to-face, he's on the phone with folks. He's constantly engaged."
Lankford said Trump's daily schedule would be a grind for some.
"So there are lots of things you see in the White House schedule," the senator said. "What you don't see are all the phone calls, all the other things that he also does behind the scenes.
"So he does work very, very long days."
The Oklahoman said Trump wants to stay involved "and is eager to be able to travel."
He added that the president "hardly sleeps and lives on Diet Coke, but he is a very engaged leader."
Lankford said media outlets trying to portray Trump as weak are the same ones that ignored serious and obvious issues facing President Joe Biden while he was in office.
"This is a total fabricated issue from the media that has determined that they're gonna try to create a story that is not real," the senator said.
He said he has seen Trump in action many times.
"I see him pretty often, and he looks great. I've been in meetings with him at 10 o'clock at night, and he's still going strong.
"So all this saying he's slowing down his schedule, I haven't seen anything that's slowed down with this president," Lankford said.
Trump took reporters at the White House to task over the issue while he conducted a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He scolded the mainstream media for questioning his overall health and cognitive ability while failing to scrutinize Biden's health during his presidency.
"But you always find something new. Like, is he in good health?" Trump said, arguing that reporters who fixate on his condition largely waved away concerns about Biden's fitness for office.
"The guy didn't do a news conference for eight months. If I go one day ... 'There's something wrong with the president.' You people are crazy."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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