For decades, Donald Trump has trusted aspirin to thin his blood, and at 79, he says he’s not changing course.
The president told NBC’s Tom Llamas he’s been taking it for 30 years and sees no reason to switch, even if it goes against his doctors’ advice.
“I’ve been taking aspirin for 30 years and I don’t want to change it,” Trump said. “They say ‘take the smaller one.’ I say, ‘Well, I want that blood to be nice and thin running through my heart.’”
When Llamas pressed him on whether that meant ignoring medical guidance, Trump replied simply, “I do.”
Trump: I take aspirin, and I don’t want to change
Q: So you go against your doctor’s orders?
Trump: I want that blood to be nice and thin running through my heart pic.twitter.com/5AkeRATbdK
— FactPost (@factpostnews) February 5, 2026
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Dr. Jonathan Reiner, cardiologist to the late Vice President Dick Cheney, called the explanation baffling. “This still makes no sense,” he wrote on X, questioning the president’s reasoning.
This still makes no sense. https://t.co/xTZfdQm3PY
— Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) February 5, 2026
Trump has openly acknowledged taking more aspirin than doctors usually recommend, 325 milligrams each day. “They’d rather have me take the smaller one,” he said. “I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”
Despite concerns from medical experts, he insisted he feels “great” and said, “I feel like I did 50 years ago.” He added that he takes regular checkups seriously, noting, “I think it’s very important. I take physicals… I take cognitive physicals.”
The president has also shared on Truth Social that White House doctors reported he was in “PERFECT HEALTH” and that he had “ACED” his cognitive test “for the third straight time.”
Even so, doubts about his health persist. Major outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post have pointed out moments when he nodded off in meetings, faltered mid-sentence during speeches, and appeared with repeated bruising on his hands.
The White House said Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, a condition in which blood struggles to return from the legs to the heart. Officials said it’s common in older adults and that aspirin is part of his treatment.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president’s health. “As the president’s physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, has made clear time and again—and as the American people see with their own eyes every single day—President Trump remains in excellent overall health,” she said.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
