President Donald Trump fantasized about his own death while watching the funeral of one of his predecessors, according to a new report.
New York Magazine reporter Ben Terris spoke to the 79-year-old president and those around him about Trump's health, which has been the topic of much speculation after he revealed taking cognitive tests and undergoing MRI exams. Sources close to him say he's been musing about his own demise.
"For all his raging against those who question his invincibility, Trump has acknowledged that he will in fact cease to exist one day," Terris wrote. "At Mar-a-Lago last year, with televisions tuned to former president Jimmy Carter’s body lying in state at the U.S. Capitol, Trump surprised people in the room when he said, according to a person familiar with his comments, 'You know, within ten years that will be me.'"
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doesn't recall Trump making such a comment, but another senior White House official said he's had mortality on his mind – but not in a "morbid way."
"[He was] thinking more about what he will be remembered for," that official said. Even the “crazy ballroom" he's building at the White House "is about leaving a legacy here.”
That also explains the "Arc de Trump" he wants erected or slapping his name on the Kennedy Center, and a Republican operative said the career real estate developer remains rooted in that mindset.
“He doesn’t think of legacy in terms of policies enacted,” a Republican operative with ties to the administration told me. “It’s buildings he can leave behind and prizes he can win."
Eric Trump told Terris the ballroom shows his elderly father is focused on his future.
“He’s having more fun building this ballroom than I can possibly tell you,” the younger Trump son said. “He’s superstitious. He likes occupying his mind with what’s in the present and not as much with what’s in the future. He will say, ‘You have the most beautiful assets in the world, and you will be able to enjoy them for a long time to come.’ Is it in some way on everybody’s mind? Of course. But he believes, and so do I, he has a lot of years left.”
Another senior White House official said Trump has been "sharing anecdotes about his father" as he nears 80 years old, saying that Fred Trump didn't ever seem old to him until he retired.
“He had an expression that I always remember,” Trump told Terris in the Oval Office. “'To retire is to expire.’"