By various accounts, he does not need as much sleep as most people, and often remains awake past midnight and then is up again by dawn. But aides say he generally works from the White House residence in the morning and occasionally sleeps in after a late-night rally. His brother Robert Trump, three years younger, died last month and the White House has not disclosed the cause, although a family friend said he had experienced brain bleeds, which began after a recent fall.
The president’s Saturday afternoon trip to Walter Reed on Nov. 16 was not on his public schedule and seemed out of the normal schedule for an annual checkup. At the time, White House officials said that it was “to begin portions of his routine annual physical exam” and that he had “a quick exam and labs,” without disclosing any specifics.
Aides pointed out that it was hardly a secret, though, since he brought his usual pool of journalists, who reported the fact of it if not any details, and they noted that he was seen getting into his motorcade at the time without assistance. They also noted that he later did return for a comprehensive physical exam in April and a summary reporting that “the president remains healthy” was released in June.
“For almost four years, the media, online conspiracy theorists and even some left-wing politicians have irresponsibly speculated that the president is not well — a disgusting assumption that has no basis in fact or reality — and it needs to stop,” Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, said in a statement on Wednesday. “President Trump has more energy, stamina and vigor than any person of his age I’ve ever met, and the American people can rest assured that he’s more than up to the task of serving as president.”
Mr. Deere’s statement did not explain why the president said on Twitter on Tuesday that the November trip “was to complete my yearly physical” when at the time both he and his staff called it the beginning of his annual checkup.
Mr. Lockhart, for one, was not convinced. “I think they still have not answered the question of why he took an unannounced visit to the hospital and seem incredibly afraid of a simple question,” he said Wednesday.
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.