'Hadn't heard that one before': WH reporter caught by surprise by Trump health admission

The day after the Wall Street Journal published an examination of Donald Trump's growing list of health issues, a White House correspondent admitted that one malady the president's team admitted to the Journal he was experiencing caught her by surprise.

During an appearance on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” contributor Akayla Gardner was grilled by co-host Jonathan Lemire about revelations from the Journal that have created new questions about the 79-year-old president's physical decline.

Lemire noted that Trump will turn 80 this year and added, “You know, there's been great reporting despite White House push back, great, great reporting about how he his aides have curtailed his schedule. It's not nearly as robust as his first term, a lot less travel as well. So talk to us about what is becoming a real story for this White House: the idea that people are starting to openly question the president's age and health.”

“Well, Jonathan, one thing that really came to mind is, I know you remember that Wall Street Journal story about [President Joe] Biden's age that got so much push back from the White House and Democrats at large,” Gardner recalled. “And I think what's really different about this story is the fact that the president spoke to the Journal; he is trying to control the narrative.”

Gardner noted that the White House sources for the Journal report admitted that the president is suffering from hearing loss -- a condition that caught her by surprise.

“You saw him denying that he's been falling asleep during White House meetings,” she elaborated. “He also denied that he's, you know, struggling to hear — something that I hadn't heard before that was reported in the story.”

“So he is trying to get ahead of any criticism here,” she suggested. “But I think the real question that's different for Biden versus Trump is Biden was running for reelection. Trump says that he's not, although there's still speculation that potentially he could try to run for a third term. But the White House is certainly, and President Trump himself is certainly willing to push back on these claims. And I think that's what we saw in this Wall Street Journal interview.“

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