Donald Trump

Alternet America -   Donald Trump is scheduled to undergo his third medical checkup at Walter Reed in 13 months on Tuesday. This is two more than presidents tend to need in a year if everything is fine.

The Washington Post reported Monday that independent physicians have been asking the White House to explain a number of things that are hard to miss: persistent bruises on the president’s hands, visibly swollen legs, and occasional public sleepiness. The White House says he’s in excellent health. This is also what they said last October, before quietly admitting that the visit involved a CT scan to rule out cardiovascular concerns.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who was Dick Cheney’s cardiologist, told the Post that the White House’s bruise explanation — too much aspirin, too much hand-shaking — doesn’t hold up.

“If you’re taking too much aspirin, one would likely take less aspirin,” he said. The bruises also appear on both hands, and Trump does not, as far as anyone can tell, shake hands with his left.

The White House response has been to publish what it calls a Wall of Shame, naming reporters and social media users who have noted that the president sometimes disappears from public view. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has alleged that Trump has the highest testosterone Mehmet Oz has ever seen in a 70-year-old, which is exactly the kind of medical opinion you’d expect from Mehmet Oz.