New conspiracies over Trump's health swirl after text interview with CNN's Jake Tapper [View all]

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Source: The Independent

Tuesday 07 October 2025 08:21 BST


President Donald Trump has reignited speculation over his health and physical stamina after he engaged in a bizarre interview with CNN conducted through text message over the weekend. For months, reporters and other observers have noted that Trump’s speech has often been slurred during appearances, pressed the White House on the origins of bruising and heavy makeup to cover it on Trump’s hand, and requested information on his health, only to be rebuffed by the White House. Now, the 79-year-old commander-in-chief has added to the questions with a written question-and-answer session, purportedly between him and anchor Jake Tapper, who hosted the network’s State of the Union program on Sunday.

Tapper said he’d asked Trump a series of questions about the 20-point peace plan he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled last week at the White House — a plan that has been accepted in part by Hamas and is currently the subject of a new round of talks with US and Israeli negotiators in Egypt. As images of the messages were displayed on screen, Tapper said Trump had replied to a question about what happens if Hamas tries to hold on to power in Gaza by writing: “Complete Obliteration!”

Another question on whether South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is correct to question Hamas’ sincerity because the militant group has not addressed demands that it disarm under the plan, Trump replied: “We will find out. Only time will tell!” Tapper continued to narrate the visual display of the purported text messages from the president, closing the alleged interview with a question about how Trump believes the now six-day government shutdown will end. According to Tapper, Trump replied: “Good, we are winning, and cutting costs, big time!”

The CNN anchor did not explain how he verified that it was the president — not any of his aides — who authored the written responses to his questions. He also did not explain whether he’d made any effort to speak with the president by phone, something that has become commonplace for reporters covering the second Trump administration because Trump has maintained use of his personal mobile phone since returning to the presidency and frequently uses it to contact reporters directly.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-health-cnn-interview-b2840195.html