Administration

New book sheds light on Trump’s mysterious Walter Reed visit in November 2019

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham in a new book sheds light on former President Trump’s mysterious visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in November 2019, suggesting that the president was undergoing a colonoscopy. She did not, however, use the term colonoscopy.

Grisham wrote that Trump in part did not disclose the details of his visit because he did not want to transfer authority to former Vice President Mike Pence during the procedure — as former President George W. Bush did when he underwent a colonoscopy in 2002, briefly passing powers to former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Grisham also said the president “did not want to be the butt of a joke” on late-night television, according to CNN.

The New York Times reported that, according to the book, Trump underwent the medical procedure without anesthesia.

Trump in November 2019 made an unannounced visit to Walter Reed for exams, which sparked a flurry of speculation regarding why the president had made the trip.

Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley, physician to the president, wrote in a statement at the time that Trump went to Walter Reed for a “routine, planned interim checkup,” adding that the visit was kept off the record because of “scheduling activities.”

Conley also dispelled rumors that Trump had chest pain and was being evaluated or treated for urgent or acute issues.

The speculation regarding his health angered Trump, leading him at one point to lash out at the rumors that he was dealing with an undisclosed health issue.

“These people are sick. They’re sick. And the press, really in this country, it’s dangerous,” Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting, without being prompted by the journalists.

“We don’t have freedom of the press in this country. We have the opposite,” he added.

The former press secretary writes in her book that while Trump could have used the situation as an opportunity to demystify colonoscopies and save lives, he instead focused on his “ego” and “delusions about his invincibility.”

“But as with covid, he was too wrapped up in his own ego and his own delusions about his invincibility,” Grisham wrote, according to The Washington Post, which also obtained a copy of the book.

Trump responded to Grisham’s book in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday, contending that his former press secretary “didn’t have what it takes and that was obvious from the beginning.”

“She became very angry and bitter after her break up and as time went on she was seldom relied upon, or even thought about. She had big problems and we felt that she should work out those problems for herself,” he added. “Now, like everyone else, she gets paid by a radical left-leaning publisher to say bad and untrue things.”

Grisham served as White House press secretary for nine month before moving to former first lady Melania Trump’s office. She ultimately resigned from her post on Jan. 6 after a pro-Trump mob descended on the Capitol to thwart Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote for the 2020 presidential election.

Since then, the relationship between Grisham and Trump World has been acrimonious, with both the former president and former first lady issuing statements attacking their ex-aide.