Donald Trump says he regrets undergoing advanced imagery on his heart and abdomen because of the "ammunition" it handed his critics, but has once more defended his "perfect" health.
In a wide-ranging interview about his fitness with the Wall Street Journal, it was confirmed the US president underwent a Computed Tomography (CT) scan last October — not an Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan as previously described.
"In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition," Mr Trump told the outlet.
"I would have been a lot better off if they didn't because the fact that I took it said, 'Oh gee, is something wrong?' Well, nothing's wrong."
The status of Mr Trump's health has gained more attention with his return to the White House.
At 79, he became the oldest person to take the oath of office when he was sworn in last year, and in his bid for re-election he repeatedly questioned 82-year-old Joe Biden's fitness for office.
Here is everything the US president said about his health.
Trump had an CT scan, not an MRI
Last October, Mr Trump's doctor, Sean Barbabella, said the president was in "exceptional health" following a visit to the Walter Reed Medical Center.
Mr Trump later remarked how he underwent an MRI scan, prompting questions around the purpose of the screening.
"I have no idea what they analysed," Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One in November.
"But whatever they analysed, they analysed it well, and they said that I had as good a result as they've ever seen."
But in the Wall Street Journal interview, it was clarified Mr Trump received a CT scan instead.
"It wasn't an MRI," Mr Trump said.
"It was less than that. It was a scan."
Dr Barbabella confirmed to the outlet that Mr Trump received a CT scan.
He said he asked the president to undergo either a CT scan or MRI "to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues" and the results were "perfectly normal and revealed absolutely no abnormalities".
A CT scan is a quicker form of diagnostic imaging than an MRI but offers less detail about differences in tissue.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president's doctors and the White House had "always maintained the president received advanced imaging".
Ms Leavitt said additional details on the imaging had "been disclosed by the president himself" because he had "nothing to hide".
Trump says aspirin causes his hand to bruise
Last year, Mr Trump was spotted multiple times with makeup on his hand to conceal bruising.
In October, Dr Barbabella said the bruising was due to minor soft tissue irritation from frequent hand-shaking and aspirin use, which the president was taking as part of a "standard cardiovascular prevention regimen".
In the Wall Street Journal interview, Mr Trump also blamed the bruising on his aspirin use, and said he took more than advised.
"I'm a little superstitious," Mr Trump said in regards to changing his aspirin dose after 25 years.
"They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don't want thick blood pouring through my heart.
"I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?"
Dr Barbabella said Mr Trump took 325 milligrams of aspirin a day.
"They'd rather have me take the smaller one," Mr Trump said.
"I take the larger one, but I've done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising."
According to the article, Mr Trump's skin is so delicate that Attorney-General Pam Bondi caused his hand to bleed when she nicked him with her ring while giving him a high-five at the Republican National Convention.
Mr Trump said he often applied makeup to his hands after he got "whacked again by someone."
"I have makeup that's, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds," he said.
The White House previously said the president had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition among older adults.
The condition happens when veins in the legs can't properly carry blood back to the heart and it pools in the lower legs.
Mr Trump revealed he briefly tried wearing compression socks to address the swelling but stopped because "I didn't like them".
Trump denies falling asleep, calls exercise 'boring'
Despite Mr Trump labelling Mr Biden "Sleepy Joe", the US president has been accused of dozing during a December cabinet meeting, and earlier at a November announcement about the cost of weight-loss medication.
But Mr Trump denied ever falling asleep while working, saying the media photographs him "blinking".
"I'll just close. It's very relaxing to me," he said in describing shutting his eyes.
"Sometimes they'll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they'll catch me with the blink."
In terms of exercising, Mr Trump said he was not interested in anything other than golf.
"I just don't like it. It's boring," Mr Trump said.
"To walk on a treadmill or run on a treadmill for hours and hours like some people do, that's not for me."
When asked about his hearing, the Wall Street Journal article stated Mr Trump grew sarcastic.
"I can't hear you. I can't hear you. I can't hear a word you're saying," he said, before adding he only struggled to hear sometimes "when there's a lot of people talking".
