New year, same old Donald Trump – beefing with foreign leaders on social, chickening out on tariffs – only this time we know about his prodigious aspirin habit
New Year, same old Donald Trump. Today he’s been beefing that people are always talking about his health – which given he’s the second oldest man ever to sit in the Oval Office, and the oldest one was effectively booted out for being unfit, is hardly unreasonable.
Meanwhile he’s mouthing off at foreign governments on social media, and chickening out on tariffs. So no apparent New Year’s resolutions for the Donald. Not even kicking his apparently prodigious aspirin habit. No, his 2026 so far is pretty much along the same lines as his 2025. Here’s how it started.
1. Donald Trump, 79, insists his health is “perfect” despite chugging aspirin
In a bid to dispel concerns about his health, Donald Trump gave an interview with the Wall Street Journal. It has, of course, had the opposite effect.
First off, it turns out he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan. A CT scan is a quicker form of diagnostic imaging than an MRI but offers less detail about differences in tissue. Then he admitted he uses compression socks to address the swelling in his lower legs, but then stopped because he didn’t like them. Then he turned to the bruising, which you’ll remember the White House said was from “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.” He said he takes more aspirin than his doctors recommend but said he has resisted taking less because he’s been taking it for 25 years and said he is “a little superstitious.” Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin daily, according to his doctor – that’s about four times the usual dose for someone his age. “They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump said. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?” No it absolutely does not.
Oh and he doesn’t fall asleep in meetings, he insists, it’s just that sometimes he blinks and photographers catch him with his eyes closed. Which is doubly weird because after all those years hosting the Apprentice, Trump definitely knows what moving pictures are.
The journal noted that Trump “expressed irritation about the public debate over his health”.
“Let’s talk about health again for the 25th time,” he sad at the start of an “impromptu phone call” to the newspaper, which was preparing to publish a story about his health.
2. His hand bled from a high five with Pam Bondi
Later in the interview, Trump admitted a high five with Pam Bondi had produced a cut on his hand.
He also said he now carries makeup around with him to cover up his bruising after a particularly rough handshake, or as he puts it, when his hands get “whacked again by someone”.
“I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds,” he said.
3. His Maccies order has also been revealed, and it’s a whopper
Now, we’ve all been to McDonalds and ordered a side burger along with our Extra Value Meal, right? (…right?)
Well, the WSJ piece resurfaced a claim from Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters that puts that to shame.
He said in a podcast interview that on the campaign trail, Trump would have “hot fries waiting for him from McDonald’s. Then he had a Filet-O-Fish, a Quarter Pounder and a Big Mac.”
Even more troublingly, he added: “I think he combined two of them.”
4. Trump makes no effort not to escalate the situation in Iran
Trump and top Iranian officials exchanged duelling threats today, as widening economic protests swept the country. And given America just got done bombing Iran’s nuclear sites, it didn’t exactly de-escalate tensions.
Trump warned Iran (via Truth Social, naturally) that if it “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.” At least seven people have been killed so far in violence surrounding the demonstrations, sparked in part by the collapse of Iran’s rial currency. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” he said, helpfully.
After that, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, claimed on (sigh) X that Israel and the US were stoking the demonstrations. He offered no evidence to support the allegation, which Iranian officials have repeatedly made during years of protests sweeping the country. Then Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who previously was the council’s secretary for years, warned that “any interventionist hand that gets too close to the security of Iran will be cut.” “The people of Iran properly know the experience of ‘being rescued’ by Americans: from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza,” he added on (sigh) X. “Trump should know that intervention by the U.S. in the domestic problem corresponds to chaos in the entire region and the destruction of the U.S. interests,” Larijani wrote on X, which the Iranian government blocks. “The people of the U.S. should know that Trump began the adventurism. They should take care of their own soldiers.”
5. Mamdani completely ignored Trump as he was sworn in
Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as Mayor of New York yesterday – and gave a speech in which he entirely ignored Trump. Which was almost certainly more irritating to the President than having a pop at him every other line. “We will transform the culture of city hall to one of no to one of how,” he said instead. “We will answer to all New Yorkers, not to any billionaire or oligarch who thinks they can buy our democracy. We will govern without shame and insecurity, making no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”
6. Trump TACOs on furniture tariffs
Trump has lived up to his “TACO” nickname – Trump Always Chickens Out – once again, putting a plan to massively hike tariffs on furniture on pause for a year.
Trump’s order signed Wednesday keeps in place a 25% tariff he imposed in September on those upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities, but delays for another year a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities. The increases, which were set to take effect Jan. 1, come as the Republican president instituted a broad swath of taxes on imported goods to address trade imbalances and other issues. The president has said the tariffs on furniture are needed to “bolster American industry and protect national security.”