New Delhi:
US President Donald Trump turned 80 on Sunday, but the milestone is not one he appears eager to celebrate. He has openly admitted that reaching 80 is not something he is particularly excited about.
“You don’t have to wish me a happy birthday, because I’m not happy about that birthday,” Trump told Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Mehmet Oz, according to The Daily Beast. “It’s a number that I never thought really too much about. It’s not a number I like, but I’m here nonetheless.”
According to the publication, discussions were held within Trump’s circle about how to address public conversations around his age, especially after age-related concerns played a major role in former president Joe Biden’s political troubles. However, author and longtime Trump biographer Michael Wolff claimed Trump had little interest in such conversations.
“I know that there has been – this is a difficult and awkward discussion inside the Trump circle, this birthday,” Wolff said on the podcast Inside Trump’s Head. He added that Trump preferred to focus attention on the country’s upcoming 250th birthday celebrations rather than his own.
The White House, however, strongly rejected Wolff’s account. White House communications director Steven Cheung told The Daily Beast, “Michael Wolff is a lying sack of sh** and has been proven to be a fraud. He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.”
Trump, who frequently compares his virility to that of his professor, has frequently mocked Biden over age and mental sharpness. As recently as January, he told The New York Times that he felt decades younger than his actual age.
“I feel physically the same. I feel the way I did 40 years ago,” Trump said, before adding, “I think Joe Biden is the worst thing that ever happened to old people.”
Trump chose to celebrate his birthday with a brutal display of political machismo Sunday, turning the White House lawn into an arena for a bloody evening of cage fights. The spectacle was seen by many as a distraction from concerns arounf his health. From bruised hands to a vein condition in his legs and apparent sleepiness in meetings, Trump has faced a number of issues, even though his doctor says he’s in excellent health.
According to AFP, Trump’s 80th birthday celebrations have also brought renewed attention to questions about his own health. The report noted that Trump has faced scrutiny over bruising on his hands, a vein condition in his legs and occasional appearances that critics have described as signs of fatigue. Despite that, his doctor has repeatedly said that he remains in excellent health.
