CNN Medical Expert Baffled by Trump's 'Unorthodox' Aspirin Regimen: 'It Makes No Sense'

[Eugene]

Source: Mediaite

CNN Medical Expert Baffled by Trump’s ‘Unorthodox’ Aspirin Regimen: ‘It Makes No Sense’

Michael Luciano
Thu, January 1, 2026 at 8:58 PM EST
2 min read

‘CNN Medical Analyst Jonathan Reiner expressed puzzlement at President Donald Trump’s habit of taking aspirin to supposedly make his blood thinner.

On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported on Trump’s health, which has recently garnered attention because of the bruises on the president’s hands, as well as his occasional nodding off during public meetings. The president blamed the bruising on his aspirin regimen.

“The large dose of aspirin he chooses to take daily has caused him to bruise easily, he said, and he has been encouraged by his doctors to take a lower dose,” the Journal reported. “But Trump has declined to switch because he has been taking it for 25 years.”

-snip-

Hours later on CNN, Reiner, a cardiologist, said no, that does not make sense.

That makes no sense. That actually makes nonsense. So first of all, when we use any kind of anticoagulant, medications to prevent clotting, those don’t thin the blood. It’s not like changing something from gumbo to chicken soup. It doesn’t make it doesn’t make it thinner. It makes you less likely to clot.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cnn-medical-expert-baffled-trump-015858316.html

________________________________________________

This is the presidunce that recommended injecting bleach to fight the coronavirus. While I have little concern for his health, I fear for people who might heed his advice.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. 5 million elderly MAGA will be on 5 aspirin a day by next week

Maybe that makes sense? This is ivermectin or bleach injections all over again. Cull the herd.

[underpants]

14. I'm surprised he's not selling it yet.

[paleotn]

38. Gold maga pills! Guaranteed to extend your lifespan for the low, low price of only $50 per pill!

Cost to manufacture, in India no less, $0.00576 per pill.

It's a race to see who dies first from aspirin overuse. Donnie the asshole or his followers.

[dutch777]

18. Buy your Bayer stock now!

[paleotn]

36. Perhaps this one will "thin the herd."

[Walleye]

2. Probably because he's such a cheapskate, he won't pay more for the smaller dose

[Historic NY]

3. Its great for helping people bleed out.

[dalton99a]

4. Trump University School of Medicine says drinking extra water can thin your blood

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Occam's Razor Seems To Apply

A guy who knows nothing about medicine made up something to make it soubd like he knows better than doctors.
He's a known liar.
The simplest explanation is that he made the whole thing up.

[SheltieLover]

12. Likely to attempt to cover for his bruised hands

[progressoid]

6. Why would anyone believe anything Trump says.

[MustLoveBeagles]

41. Right

He's a known liar.

[FarPoint]

7. Anyone with medical clinical knowledge

recognizes this statement by tRump as a lie .

[Maru Kitteh]

25. Oh I've had patients JUST like that. Doing exactly as he says he is, now.

“I’ve been taking one X brand aspirin for X years! I’m not going to quit now, it’s how I got this far!” That, or they will tell you they will stop and then just keep doing it anyway. It’s OTC. They will do what they eant.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. 25 years?

Then there would have been more blood when Trump was "shot" in the ear.

[FarPoint]

13. I has the same immediate thought...

This adds to the validation of a staged shooting in Butler Pa.

[appleannie1]

22. The fans behind him that did not get hit by the magic disappearing bullet would have been sprayed with it.

[Melon]

9. My brother is on a low dose of daily aspirin

As prescribed by his cardiologist. But had a mild heart attack years ago. Low dose was commonly prescribed or used to be. The question is has Trump had a previous heart attack or stroke?

[dsc]

21. still is

I have been on a low dose for the past few years and will likely be on it for the rest of my life.

[rampartd]

29. 1 baby aspirin. 81 mg.

i take 1 every day except the rare days when i take 2 extra strength for a pain.

[thesquanderer]

49. Maybe he was told to take baby aspirin, and he takes the full size instead, because...

Last edited Fri Jan 2, 2026, 11:21 PM - Edit history (1)

... he sees the word "baby" as an insult, and he finds it more "manly" to take "regular" aspirin. Related... Dr. Trump would think, if a little is good, more is better, and he can handle it because he's superman.

[NH Ethylene]

30. It used to be routinely prescribed for anyone with cardiac risk factors.

It probably still is.

[Melon]

40. It still is. Which is why I'm a bit missing on this thread

Aspirin was very commonly prescribed as you got older so you don’t have as high a risk for stroke or heart attack. The risk being more bleeding.now the cnn expert says that makes no sense? I’m for the downfall of the current regime, but this sounds like some common knowledge situation. Only think off is taking the higher dose.

[Randomthought]

47. Aspirin not recommended for people over 70

I was prescribed 2 low dose aspirin a day to prevent clots from forming in my legs while immobile from a hairline fracture in my femur. A couple of weeks later I bumped my head on a cabinet door and soaked a bath towel.
If he takes a falling and has a brain bleed, he is dead.

[Ms. Toad]

50. That recommendation has changed for older individual.

But what the CNN expert is saying is nonsense is that the mechanism by which it may be helpful earlier in life isn't to literally thin blood (even though that term is used to describe anticoagulants) - it works by making the platelets less prone to stick together when they come in contact with each other - in other words, less likely to form clots.

[stopdiggin]

52. in very minor doses. NO doctor is recommending what Trump is claiming

But then - this IS coming from the man that lies with every breath he takes

[Jbraybarten]

58. I have no background to make medical comments, but wow he does look like someone who has had a

mild stroke.

[appleannie1]

62. Trump claims he takes two regular dose aspirin daily.

Low dose is 1/5 of a regular aspirin. I take a low dose everyday but even after a mild heart attack, my cardiologist said I should never take regular aspirin.

[Chasstev365]

10. Once again, Trump thinks he's smarter than everyone else, including medical experts.

[bucolic_frolic]

11. Organizing an Aspirin party for the weekend, who's in?

Do you dissolve them in martinis, or chug them down?

[niyad]

17. When I was in high school, the word was that dissolving aspirin in soda

could get you drunk. I just thought it sounded disgusting.

[doc03]

15. I have been taking Warfarin for years due to a Factor V clotting disorder. I take a PT/INR blood test

once a month to monitor my blood. I am 78 and don't have the bruising problem that Trump has. Of course,
Trump thinks he knows more about medicine than anyone. Donnie Boy please proceed and maybe double your dose
of aspirin. You would be doing us all a favor if you had a fatal brain bleed.

[Ms. Toad]

60. Same medication, different reason.

For years at a time. Almost no bruising.

[MuseRider]

16. Oh for cripes sake

That much aspirin would have killed him long ago. Just the gastric problems from that kind of dosing would have taken him out long ago.

[allegorical oracle]

23. Well, he does allegedly wear diapers....

[paleotn]

39. Perhaps it's a relatively new phenom with the orange moron.

Give it time.

[Ms. Toad]

54. It's really not that much.

The standard dose is 2 (650 mg) every 4 -6 hours, capped at 3900 mg/day. He's taking less then 1/10 of that.

And aspirin doesn't cause gastric problems for everyone. From the GI perspective, the only NSAID I can't eat like candy is Naprosyn. I have been on long term (months or years at a time) NSAID therapy with aspirin, ibuprofen, and Naprosyn a few times over the years for inflammation with zero GI issues, aside from Naprosyn, which was discontinued because it caused ulcers. I'm not any more, because I didn't currently need it and because most of them currently elevate my blood pressure.

[Johnny2X2X]

19. He lied

Jesus people. He lied and just made up a number and we’re having articles with medical experts being consulted. All he does is lie to distract and the lapdog media takes the bait every time.

[twodogsbarking]

20. Aspirin would make my nose bleed at times. Took them as a child. F's up your gut too.

[mdbl]

24. Won't it damage the liver too?

Not that I really care.

[Blumancru]

26. Waiting for His Flatulency to have that Big Beautiful Bruise

[Rebl2]

27. Good way

for him to get a stomach or intestinal bleed, particularly if he is taking 5 a day. A nurse told me once, older people should really limit NSAIDs. She had seen so many older patients suffer the consequences of taking these medications.
If he is taking a high dose of aspirin or other NSAID, his ears must be ringing loudly. As a child, back in the 60’s, I had to take a high dose of aspirin for rheumatoid arthritis. I have permanent ringing in my ears from taking all that aspirin. They didn’t give prednisone to children back then, which is often one medication given to adults, which also has its own bad side effects.

[Renew Deal]

28. Is the "thinner" ve. "Less likely to clot" argument a distinction without a difference?

I thought he was going to say the amount of aspirin doesn’t make sense. To argue over laymen’s terms describing the impact misses the point.

[NH Ethylene]

31. I agree. This is a ridiculous criticism.

Google aspirin. It's described as a blood thinner. There is a whole category of drugs that are called blood thinners. The actual mode of action is something that is not widely known.

[markodochartaigh]

57. I've been a registered nurse since 1983.

I completely agree with you. And the dose issue mentioned likely is the difference between the standard 325 mg tablet which decades ago was prescribed daily for the heart and the 81 mg tablet which is more commonly prescribed now.

A real issue might be if he is on different "blood thinner(s)" besides aspirin. Different anticoagulants work on different steps of the coagulation process. They may or may not be compatible for a particular patient. If a normal patient is taking whatever they please along with the anti-coagulant medication prescribed by their physician it is a serious issue. Even things like leafy greens or natto in the diet should be discussed. As for Trump, he probably takes whatever he is going to take and his doctors just have to deal with it even if the outcome is suboptimal.

[C_U_L8R]

32. He must have a hole in his stomach

No wonder he craps his pants so much.

[mwb970]

33. Really? Something trump does makes no sense??

I am stunned.

[paleotn]

34. No, no, no!!!! Stop saying that!!! Encourage him!!!!

[Grim Chieftain]

35. My husband had out-patient eye surgery a few years ago

It was supposed to take no more than two hours, it took eight. The surgical nurse came out and told me it was because he would not stop bleeding. They determined it was because he had been taking one regular, full-strength aspirin a day for several years.

Apparently, Trump is immune from anything that would harm a normal person.

[Attilatheblond]

37. Considering the Quacks and Crackpots he put in charge of national health policies, it makes perfect sense

He's a fool

[flashman13]

42. Of course it doesn't make sense. Morons don't make sense.

It's the Dunning Kruger effect. Oh, look, I'm Doctor Donny today.

[Picaro]

43. Another story about trying to make sense out of nonsense

[Nigrum Cattus]

44. just like everything else, it's BS

nothing he says is true
it's just another excuse
this time for bruises on the back of his hands
smoke & mirrors

[Botany]

45. I am on an aspirin a day regimen and I like millions of other who are on it take a baby aspirin a day which is

81 mg. Taking that high a dose would leave him open to massive blood loss after an injury either
external or internal and would chew up his stomach and small intestines.

How to tell if Trump is lying? His lips are moving.

[Tikki]

46. Someone has probably replaced his aspirin in the bottle with placebos.

If someone is suspect to overdosing….this!

Tikki

[stopdiggin]

48. So we're assuming this 'regimine' to be actually true .. ? Because .. ? Trump .. ?

Lord have mercy .. !

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[tanyev]

53. Odd, because Donald Trump is usually so sensible and rational.

[LymphocyteLover]

55. LOL, right???

[Skittles]

59. RIGHT???

of course it makes sense, Trump is a lying POS

[LymphocyteLover]

56. did you see his quote "I want nice thin blood pouring through my heart"?

Who the fuck says this???

Trump admits to taking more aspirin than his docs recommend: “They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”

What could possibly go wrong! (2/6)

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-01-01T14:57:20.571Z

[maxsolomon]

61. Rising to the bait again, CNN. Treating his daily Bullshitting seriously.

CNN Medical Analyst Jonathan Reiner may not know this, but MFer is A SERIAL FABRICATOR. He's also deeply, deeply stupid.

"Full Spectrum Dominance" strikes again. DU's favorite whipping boy the NYT has a front-page article about MFer's media-saturation technique today.

[Initech]

63. Whatever aspirin he's taking, take more!