Where’s Trump? President Resurfaces After A Week With No Public Events Amid Health Questions And Tumbling Polls

With 5 months remaining until nan midterm elections that could determine nan destiny of his last 2 years successful office, Donald Trump is spending much of his clip holed up down closed doors, engaging successful safe interviews pinch friends friends and venturing retired only to play play astatine his ain properties.

The president’s schedule connected Wednesday included a hefty chunk of alleged “executive time” spent successful nan White House residence — an expanding beingness connected his regular schedule — on pinch a smattering of what aides mention to arsenic “policy meetings,” and a “Rose Garden Club” meal connected nan patio extracurricular nan Oval Office, wherever he often rewards supporters pinch invitations.

All told, Wednesday would person marked a week since Trump had done a nationalist arena aliases 1 that was unfastened to nan White House property corps, pinch nan past specified being a May 27 Cabinet — a time aft he visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center successful Bethesda, Maryland for what he called a “six-month physical” successful a Truth Social station declaring that “everything” had “checked retired PERFECTLY” during nan exam.

But astatine nan past infinitesimal nan White House opened a antecedently “closed press” executive bid signing astatine 4 p.m. to nan press, and he repeated galore of his top hits: touting nan repainting of nan Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool; comparing its size, if stood connected its end, to nan tallest skyscrapers; and lauding nan crime driblet successful Washington, DC and really overmuch much cleanable nan superior has go nether his twelvemonth and a half backmost successful office.

The president’s comparative invisibility complete nan past week comes amid questions astir nan wellness of a commander-in-chief who will move 80 connected June 14 and his fittingness to service successful what has been described arsenic nan world’s astir demanding job.

Trump is besides nan oldest personification to ever commencement a word arsenic president.

His ray nationalist schedule and deficiency of engagement pinch nan broader property corps continues a inclination that started successful February, erstwhile he unilaterally started nan warfare pinch Iran that has led to skyrocketing state prices and a corresponding descent successful his support ratings which could portend important losses for his statement successful nan midterm elections.

Data obtained by The Independent from nan White House Transition Project shows that nan commencement of nan Iran warfare marked a important displacement successful nan president’s visibility — and an summation successful nan White House’s efforts to make him look engaged by loading his schedule pinch descriptions of “executive time,” “policy time,” and different meetings.

From Feb. 28, nan first time of nan war, to nan extremity of April, Trump held 32 short question-and-answer sessions pinch nan White House property pool, positive 3 news conferences (one solo and 2 joint).

The aforesaid information showed he held 21 Q-and-A sessions during nan first period and 8 days of nan 2nd twelvemonth of his word — Jan. 20 of this twelvemonth done nan commencement of nan warfare connected Feb. 28 — indicating a ample simplification successful nan magnitude of clip he spent speaking to nan property excavation since nan commencement of nan war.

The president initially attempted to capable nan void near by his deficiency of nationalist appearances by spending important amounts of clip connected nan telephone pinch reporters who’d dialed his individual mobile number — including The Independent — for a singular full of 138 short interviews successful 61 days (at slightest 2 a time complete a seven-day week).

But moreover nan gait of Trump’s unprecedented outreach via cellular telephone has flagged complete nan past fewer weeks arsenic he has dialed backmost connected his appearances.

At nan aforesaid time, he has much aliases little appeared to person fixed up connected nan signature run rallies that person characterized his governmental cognition since his first tally for nan presidency kicked disconnected successful 2015.

And erstwhile Trump does look earlier cameras, he often appears exhausted and haggard, and astatine times he has been seen to adjacent his eyes for important periods, starring observers to judge he has fallen asleep.

His beingness quality has besides fixed emergence to questions astir his condition, including predominant appearances of bruising connected some hands (which nan White House attributes to his complete usage of aspirin mixed pinch predominant vigorous hand-shaking), swelling successful his little legs that has been blamed connected a circulatory ailment known arsenic Chronic Veinous Insufficiency, and a rash connected his neck.

Yet White House aides who said to The Independent invariably picture nan president arsenic possessing a boundless power and pointed to his late, almost nocturnal hours, including his predominant late-night Truth Social posting sprees, arsenic grounds of his indefatigable nature.

One apical management official, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, claimed he had “never seen him autumn asleep” during immoderate meetings while nether questioning by Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., astatine a House Foreign Affairs Committee proceeding connected Wednesday.

Even aft Lieu played video of Trump appearing to doze disconnected astatine respective events, Rubio characterized nan Democratic congressman’s explanation of Trump arsenic dormant arsenic “false.”

“On nan contrary, nan feline doesn’t sleep. Which is simply a large problem, because he calls maine astatine 2 successful nan morning, he calls maine astatine 5 successful nan morning, and you know, I for illustration to slumber a small bit,” he said.

Moments later, Lieu replied that nan president’s “inability to enactment awake connected nan occupation shows that there’s thing very incorrect pinch his wellness and cognitive abilities.”

After The Independent asked nan White House to explicate why Trump has seemingly trim backmost connected nationalist appearances pursuing his physical, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle vehemently rejected nan premise of nan query and pointed to Trump’s caller sit-down interviews pinch MAGA-aligned New York Post columnist Miranda Devine and his Fox News presenter daughter-in-law, Lara Trump arsenic grounds that he had not disengaged from speaking to reporters.

But Republican governmental veterans — nary of whom would speak connected nan grounds for fearfulness of angering nan Trump governmental cognition aliases nan White House — characterized nan president’s evident retreat from position arsenic an existential threat to his governmental brand.

One operative noted that moreover though Trump is older than Biden, during nan 2024 run he was capable to coming a acold much vigorous image and formed his force arsenic not conscionable “sleepy” but mentally unfit to serve.

They said Trump’s supporters person bought into his self-image arsenic a man of action because he’s ever been connected nan roadworthy aliases visible connected tv sparring pinch packs of reporters, and warned that not keeping up that quality would springiness further ammunition to critics who opportunity he’s mislaid much than a measurement since returning to power.

Andrew Bates, a erstwhile spokesperson for nan Biden White House, told The Independent that Trump’s retreat from position is “a lose-lose for Republican candidates because Trump's diminution is showing itself successful his increasing inability to dress he cares astir thing but making money disconnected of taxpayers and building monuments to himself for illustration assisted surviving crafts projects.”

“When he surfaces, he says he doesn't deliberation astir Americans' finances 'even a small bit;' but erstwhile he's disconnected camera, he's rage-posting astir nan Pope aliases really his slush money for cronies was unopen down by nan courts,” Bates said.

But Ingle, nan White House spokesperson, flatly denied there’s immoderate valid comparison to beryllium made betwixt nan 46th and 47th president’s respective conditions.

“President Trump conscionable participated successful a 45-minute wide-ranging question and reply yesterday. Anyone drafting comparisons betwixt nan accessibility of President Trump and Joe Biden is simply a grade-A moron,” he said.