5 takeaways from Trump's defiant WSJ interview on his health

President Trump dismissed concerns about his health related to his age during a Wall Street Journal interview published Thursday, declaring: "My health is perfect."Why it matters: The 79-year-old last year became the oldest president ever to be inaugurated and questions have been raised about his health similar to those faced by former President Biden, 83 — whom he mocked during the 2024 presidential campaign as feeble and confused before his predecessor dropped out of the race.Trump's WSJ interview marked one of the most in-depth yet on the health of a president who would become the oldest sitting commander-in-chief at the end of his second term.What he's sayingHealth scrutiny: Trump expressed regret about having advanced imaging in October because of the ensuing scrutiny he faced."In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition," he told the WSJ of the cardiovascular and abdominal scan he underwent. "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."Zoom in: After earlier saying he had an MRI scan during his October medical exam at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Trump told the WSJ that he had a CT scan. His doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, concurred."It wasn't an MRI," Trump said. "It was less than that. It was a scan."Flashback: Barbabella, said in October that Trump's second medical exam at Walter Reed since returning to office included "advanced imaging," without elaborating further.Trump told reporters later that he had a magnetic resonance imaging scan, which uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of organs and tissues within your body.He pledged in late November to release his "perfect" MRI results, adding: "It was just an MRI. ... It wasn't the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it."Trump's hand bruises: During the interview, Trump blamed his years of taking higher doses of aspirin for "cardiac prevention" for bruises on his hand last year that sparked rumors about his health.Trump said his doctors would rather he took a lower dose. "I take the larger one, but I've done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising," he said.On sleep health: Trump pushed back on recent images appearing to show him falling asleep on the job and said it can be "very relaxing" to sometimes close his eyes."Sometimes they'll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they'll catch me with the blink," he said of photographers.Trump said he's "never been a big sleeper," though he admitted to asking staff to reduce his schedule for efficiency reasons that were not related to his age.On hearing concerns: Trump denied having any hearing issues, but said he can struggle to hear "when there's a lot of people talking."On his overall health: Trump described exercise that's not golf as "boring."He said he took after his parents, who remained energetic into their older years."Genetics are very important," he said. "And I have very good genetics."Go deeper: Trump says higher aspirin dosage behind hand bruises