President Donald Trump’s cautious arrival in South Korea has raised further questions about the 79-year-old’s health.
Trump gripped the railing of Air Force One as he took special care to walk down the steps after landing in Busan, South Korea, on Wednesday.
The president is in South Korea for APEC meetings, as part of a global jaunt that has included visits to Malaysia and Japan.
With his eyes fixed downwards, the president moved oh-so-carefully down the staircase, where he was greeted by dignitaries on a red carpet.
Trump’s slow and steady exit from Air Force One follows the revelation last month that he is concerned about tumbling while using stairs.
“I’m very careful. You know, when I walk downstairs—like I’m on stairs like these stairs—I walk very slowly,“ Trump confessed to military leaders at Marine Corps base in Quantico.
“Nobody has to set a record. Just try not to fall because it doesn’t work out well… Just walk nice and easy. You don’t have to set any record.”
The president’s health became a talking point again this week after Trump told reporters he had undergone an MRI scan, but did not explain the reason for the scan.
“I got an MRI,” Trump said. “It was perfect.”
“I gave you the full results. We had an MRI, and the machine, you know, the whole thing, it was perfect,” he added.
However a cardiologist has suggested the MRI scan may have been performed due to the president presenting with symptoms associated with a neurological issue.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who was cardiologist to former Vice President Dick Cheney, said there were many reasons why Trump’s medical team may have requested the scan.
“Typically, they’re prompted by symptoms,” Reiner said of MRIs. “They can be neurologic symptoms that prompt an MRI. They could be back pain that prompts an MRI. There can be issues with the heart that would prompt an MRI.”
Dr. Reiner suggested there should be transparency about any health issues the president may be suffering.
“The public should really be told, you know, why did the president undergo the test, what consultants he saw, and what was the result of the testing?”
He also added that an MRI is “never part of a routine evaluation, whether you’re president of the United States or whether you’re just a civilian.”
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