Donald Trump's press secretary has suggested that anyone questioning information she relayed about the president's Saturday visit to hospital is "wholly irresponsible and dangerous."
Trump spent more than two hours at Walter Reed National Medical Center on Saturday for what press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said were routine medical tests as part of his annual checkup.
Her statement came in spite of the fact that no medical appointments were scheduled in Trump's diary and that it had been less than a year since Trump's last annual checkup in February.
"Anticipating a very busy 2020, the President is taking advantage of a free weekend here in Washington, D.C., to begin portions of his routine annual physical exam at Walter Reed," Grisham had said in a statement.
The statement was contradicted by a report from Andrew Vernon, an opinion columnist at The Hill, with his sources in the White House telling him that Trump was sent to hospital with "chest discomfort."
Trump, 73, could be seen leaving the White House to go to Walter Reed shortly after 2 p.m. He entered a black SUV and a Secret Service motorcade escorted him to the location roughly thirty minutes drive away.
"The fact that the movement to Walter Reed by motorcade was off the record is a sign that today's trip was not planned in advance," Andrew Feinberg, a reporter at The Independent, wrote on Twitter.
#BreakingNews Sources tell me from Walter Reed the President was being checked out for chest discomfort. No other information is available at this time.
— Andrew Vernon (@VernonAndrewJ) November 17, 2019
The fact that the movement to Walter Reed by motorcade was off the record is a sign that today’s trip was *not planned in advance* — off the record movements like that are generally kept that way for security reasons if there has not been time to fully secure the motorcade route.
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) November 17, 2019
Heavily armed counter-assault teams were also pictured setting up base outside the hospital, giving rise to further thought that the visit was not scheduled.
Addressing Trump's visit on Fox News with host Jeanine Pirro, Grisham said that anything outside her statement saying that the visit was a routine checkup was nothing more than rumors.
"Oh the rumors are always flying," she said. "He [Trump] is as healthy as can be. I put a statement out about that. He's got more energy than anybody in the White House. That man works from 6 a.m. until, you know, very, very late at night. He's doing just fine."
Later, Grisham retweeted a clip of her appearance on Fox News that quoted her as saying the visit was routine.
EXACTLY! Thank you for helping me get the correct information out. Further speculation beyond the extensive & honest info I put out is wholly irresponsible & dangerous for the country. https://t.co/gl6XOxgbmL
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) November 17, 2019
Tweeting alongside the words, she said: "EXACTLY! Thank you for helping me get the correct information out. Further speculation beyond the extensive and honest info I put out is wholly irresponsible and dangerous for the country."
Trump also tweeted about his visit to Walter Reed.
"Visited a great family of a young man under major surgery at the amazing Walter Reed Medical Center," Trump said. "Those are truly some of the best doctors anywhere in the world. Also began phase one of my yearly physical. Everything very good (great!). Will complete next year."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
