White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said it is ‘‘absolutely not’’ true that President Trump’s visit to a doctor Saturday was anything other than a routine physical exam, maintaining that he is ‘‘healthy as can be.’’
‘‘Oh, the rumors are always flying,’’ Grisham said Saturday when asked during an interview with Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro whether there was any truth to the speculation that the visit was out of the ordinary. ‘‘Absolutely not. He is healthy as can be. I put a statement out about that. He’s got more energy than anybody in the White House. That man works from 6 a.m. until, you know, very, very late at night. He’s doing just fine.’’
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Trump, 73, made a visit Saturday afternoon to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The trip came on a day when the president had no public events on his schedule.
Trump had his first annual physical as president in January 2018. His second was in February 2019. Trump’s doctors hailed his health as ‘‘excellent’’ and ‘‘very good’’ after those exams.
Trump mentioned his visit to Walter Reed in a tweet early Sunday.
‘‘Visited a great family of a young man under major surgery at the amazing Walter Reed Medical Center,’’ he said. ‘‘Those are truly some of the best doctors anywhere in the world. Also began phase one of my yearly physical. Everything very good (great!). Will complete next year.’’
For a typical annual physical exam, a patient would fast, usually overnight, so accurate blood tests could be performed. The White House said that Trump was getting a jump on a portion of his physical and that lab work was included.
Washington Post
Radio host says he criticized Trump, was fired mid-show
A host from a conservative radio station in Denver said he was abruptly fired after criticizing President Trump during his weekly talk show Saturday morning.
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Craig Silverman, a former local prosecutor, was replaying parts of a 2015 interview with Trump confidant Roger Stone when managers from 710 KNUS cut him off and switched to network news, according to the Denver Post. Stone was convicted Friday of witness tampering and lying to Congress in connection with the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In the clip, Silverman told Stone that he was bothered by Trump’s relationship with the late Roy Cohn, Trump’s former attorney and mentor, who was widely regarded as a ruthless power broker.
Silverman said the station’s program director came through the door without warning and told him, ‘‘You’re done,’’ according to the Denver Post. The host added that he intended to spend the last hour of his show discussing ‘‘how toxic Trump is in Colorado’’ and arguing that congressional Democrats were ‘‘making a strong case’’ in the impeachment inquiry.
Silverman and representatives from KNUS and Salem Media Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday morning.
Washington Post
Partisan divide seen in how local news should be helped
The nation’s partisan divide is evident when Americans are asked about what should be done to help the nation’s struggling local news industry.
While two-thirds of Democrats say news organizations in need should be able to receive government or private funding in order to survive, only 17 percent of Republicans feel the same way, according to a study released Sunday by Gallup and the Knight Foundation. For independents, 37 percent back such funding.
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Republicans are also more likely to take a sink-or-swim attitude toward the press. While 72 percent of Democrats say local newspapers are vital and should be preserved even if they’re failing financially, 76 percent of Republicans say they’re just like any other business and if they can’t hack it, tough luck.
“It’s not surprising to me to see the level of polarization in general shading most people’s views toward anything to do with the media,” said Sam Gill, vice president for communities and impact at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Republicans are more likely to view the media as hostile and biased, along with having a deep-seated suspicion toward government involvement in the public discourse, he said.
Local news has suffered over the past two decades as readers and advertisers found alternatives online. More than 2,000 local newspapers in the United States have closed since 2004, according to the University of North Carolina.
Associated Press