A new poll indicates that the majority of Americans back President Donald Trump’s proposal to allow people to buy their own health insurance with direct funding from the government, as it is being mulled as a possible alternative to continuing Affordable Care Act subsidies.
OnMessage Public Strategies and the Insurance Watchdog Coalition asked 1,000 likely voters nationally their thoughts on a variety of health care issues from Jan. 15-18, including 59% who said they would back Trump’s health care pitch. A memo from the polling firm described it as a “center-right coalition” with that 59% being made up of 82% of Republicans and 51% of Independents. Twenty-eight percent opposed, 13% did not know or did not have an opinion.
Last week, Trump announced the “Great Healthcare Plan” pitch for Congress, as the president said in a video announcement last week that it “will truly make health care affordable again.”
The webpage for the policy states that it “stops sending big insurance companies billions in extra taxpayer-funded subsidy payments and instead sends that money directly to eligible Americans to allow them to buy the health insurance of their choice.”
Sixty-three percent of those polled said that health insurance companies should be the focus of policymakers “to solve the problems in health care” affecting them, with 13% saying pharmaceutical companies.
There was also 97% consensus on having “more transparency for health insurance companies so they can’t use secret rules or computer programs to decide who gets care and when” and that “health insurance pricing needs to be made more transparent so that patients know the cost for every appointment, procedure or prescription drug, allowing patients to make informed choices, driving down costs overall.”
In addition, 70% of those polled agreed with the premise that “health insurance companies should be forced to cover all drugs offered on the new government website without marking up the price,” in a specific reference to TrumpRx, a government website launched to help people find the lowest drug prices available for specific medications. Only 11% disagreed.
“While many Democrats believe that the issue of health care offers them political inroads, Republicans and the Trump Administration have the chance to go on offense with meaningful policy wins for voters as it relates to health insurance and have begun to do so,” the OnMessage memo stated.
Congress has been at odds over the Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired at the end of 2025, with the House voting to extend the subsidies for three years with the support of a handful of Republicans through a discharge petition. Talks have been murkier in the Senate on the continuation of the subsidies, as ACA plan premiums rose significantly for many, as many conservatives have argued it serves as evidence that Obamacare was not a fiscal sound policy to begin with.
<a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/01/20/congress/congress-clinches-health-deal-to-crack-down-on-drug-intermediaries-00736680" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politico</a> reported Tuesday that a bipartisan health care deal was achieved on some aspects of the debate, but not the subsidies.

President Trump Tours Ford Rouge Complex In Michigan

Exclusive: Majority Of Americans Back Key Element Of Trump’s ‘Great Healthcare Plan’

Congress

Health

Healthcare

Obamacare

Politics

Trump Administration

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said President Donald Trump has incredibly high testosterone levels for a man his age, and discussed the president&#8217;s bizarre diet — which includes a lot of fast food.
“He&#8217;s got incredible health,&#8221; Kennedy said of President Trump during a recent appearance on The Katie Miller Podcast.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, looked at Trump&#8217;s medical records &#8220;and said he&#8217;s got the highest testosterone level that he&#8217;s ever seen for an individual over 70 years old,&#8221; according to Kennedy, who joked that he knows Trump would be okay with him disclosing that to the public.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Bobby Kennedy on President Trump’s health:
“He&#8217;s got a he&#8217;s incredible health. <a href="https://twitter.com/DrOz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrOz</a> looked at his medical records and said he&#8217;s got the HIGHEST testosterone level that he&#8217;s ever seen for an individual over 70 years old.
I know the President will be happy that I&#8217;ll repeat… <a href="https://t.co/GRqr4Xlz8v">pic.twitter.com/GRqr4Xlz8v</a>
— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) <a href="https://twitter.com/KatieMiller/status/2011239167943119241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
The president, though, has a bizarre diet, Kennedy said. When asked who has &#8220;the most unhinged eating habits&#8221; in the administration, Kennedy quickly pinpointed Trump.
&#8220;The interesting thing about the president, is that he eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s, and candy, and Diet Coke — he drinks the Diet Coke at all times. He has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive,&#8221; Kennedy joked.
<div id="attachment_1027605" style="width: 902px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1027605" class="wp-image-1027605 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2178845538.jpg" alt="Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump works behind the counter during a campaign event at McDonald's restaurant on October 20, 2024 in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania." width="892" height="505" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2178845538.jpg 892w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2178845538-300x170.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2178845538-768x435.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 892px) 100vw, 892px" />Doug Mills/The New York Times via Getty Images</div>
&#8220;He says that the only time he eats the junk food is when he&#8217;s on the road, and he wants to eat food from big corporations because he trusts it — he doesn&#8217;t want to get sick when he&#8217;s on the road,&#8221; the secretary explained. &#8220;But when he&#8217;s at Mar-a-Lago or at the White House, he&#8217;s eating really good food.&#8221;
&#8220;If you travel with him, you get his idea that he&#8217;s just pumping himself full of poison all day long and you don&#8217;t know how he&#8217;s walking around, much less being the most energetic person any of us have ever met,&#8221; Kennedy added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
RFK Jr. on Trump:
“He eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s, and candy and Diet Coke. But he drinks Diet Coke at all times. He has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive…He&#8217;s just pumping himself full of poison all day long.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/l4iHnlTkiE">pic.twitter.com/l4iHnlTkiE</a>
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/2011296405286240512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
President Trump is known for having incredible energy and needing very little sleep. Left-wing CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins recently <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cnn-kaitlan-collins-reveals-why-181726613.html">talked</a> about how media folks dread traveling with Trump on Air Force One because the president &#8220;does not sleep.&#8221;
“He doesn’t sleep on these trips, and you’re going to Asia or something, and that’s like the only time you’re going to sleep before you go on this trip, but Trump is just always up and talking,” Collins said a source told her.
Trump, apparently, will even “wake staff up if they’re asleep because he wants to talk to them,” Collins added.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-releases-trumps-excellent-health-exam-summary">White House Releases Trump’s ‘Excellent’ Health Exam Summary</a>

Donald Trump

RFK Jr. Praises Trump’s Sky-High Testosterone Levels, Jokes About His Bizarre Diet

Mehmet Oz

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

NASA is cutting short the Crew-11 mission aboard the International Space Station due to a crewmember&#8217;s medical issue, and canceling the first spacewalk of the year that was originally planned for Thursday.
“I have come to the decision that it&#8217;s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said Thursday in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffcV3jCwwPk">press conference</a>, adding that their return would take place “in the coming days.”
The space agency released no further details on the name of the crewmember or of the medical situation, but reiterated that the astronaut is now fully stable.
Dr. James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, said, “It’s not an emergency evacuation, but we are erring on the side of caution for the crew member.”
The spacewalk was to be performed by American astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, who would exit the orbiting lab for almost 7 hours and &#8220;finish preparing a power channel where a new solar array is set to be installed on the ISS,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/nasa-cancels-spacewalk-and-considers-early-crew-return-from-iss-due-to-medical-issues">Live Science</a>. It would have been Cardman&#8217;s first spacewalk, and Fincke&#8217;s ninth.
The other two astronauts were Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.
The American-Japanese-Russian crew first arrived on the ISS in August 2025 and was scheduled for at least a sixth-month stay. The group was then supposed to be replaced with Crew-12 in mid-February, but this is now up in the air due to the early departure. Isaacman said they may &#8220;potentially pull [the crew] forward.&#8221;
&#8220;It is unclear what returning Crew-11 home early would mean for the ISS, as such changes to the usual rotation are highly unusual,&#8221; Live Science reported.
There are also three other astronauts currently living on the space station who launched from a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in November and are due back to Earth in the summer.
NASA announced it will provide further details regarding the upcoming crew in the next 48 hours.

NASA

NASA Cancels Spacewalk After Astronaut’s Medical Issue, Crew To Return Home

Medical

Outer Space

World

On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-novel-non-opioid-treatment-moderate-severe-acute-pain">approved</a> Journavx (suzetrigine) 50 mg oral tablets, a first-in-class non-opioid analgesic for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adults.
Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Journavx represents a novel approach to pain management, targeting sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system to block pain signals before they reach the brain, offering an alternative to addictive opioids for post-surgical pain.
The FDA highlighted this approval as a major public health milestone, providing patients with a safer pain management option while addressing the opioid crisis. The agency has long promoted the development of non-opioid therapies through its Overdose Prevention Framework, issuing guidance to encourage innovative analgesics and supporting clinical practice guidelines for acute pain management. Journavx’s application received Breakthrough Therapy, Fast Track, and Priority Review designations, reflecting its therapeutic significance.
Efficacy was demonstrated in two randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled clinical trials involving patients recovering from abdominoplasty and bunionectomy. Both trials showed that Journavx significantly reduced pain compared to placebo, with participants allowed to use ibuprofen as “rescue” medication if needed. Safety data from 874 participants in these trials, along with supportive data from 256 patients in a separate open-label study, showed that common adverse effects included itching, muscle spasms, rash, and elevated creatine phosphokinase. Journavx is contraindicated with strong CYP3A inhibitors and should not be taken with grapefruit-containing foods or drinks.
Journavx joins the broader category of non-opioid analgesics, which includes acetaminophen, NSAIDs, COX-2 inhibitors, topical agents, and adjuvant therapies. Unlike opioids, these drugs relieve pain without binding to central opioid receptors, avoiding risks of dependence, tolerance, and respiratory depression. Journavx distinguishes itself as the first approved drug to block pain at peripheral nerves without affecting the brain, offering a promising new option for acute pain management while reducing reliance on opioid medications.
Most side effects in clinical trials were rated as mild to moderate and resolved without long-term issues. While no serious adverse events were directly linked to the drug in primary trials, the FDA and medical guides list several precautions:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Liver Function: Patients with moderate hepatic impairment require a lower dose. The drug is not recommended for those with severe liver disease (Child-Pugh Class C).</li>
<li>Kidney Function: It should be avoided in patients with severe renal impairment (eGFR &lt;15 mL/min).</li>
<li>Fertility &amp; Pregnancy: It may temporarily reduce the chance of becoming pregnant while on treatment. There is currently no human data on its safety during pregnancy or breastfeeding.</li>
</ul>

Peripheral Neuropathy pain in elderly patient on foot, hand, fingers, sensory nerves with numbness, muscle cramps, weakness from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

Breakthrough In Acute Pain Management: FDA Approves First-In-Class Non-Opioid

Big Pharma

Pharmaceuticals

U.S.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, announced Tuesday that Medicaid payments to 14 programs in Minnesota will be deferred, and that a sweeping audit of those federally funded programs is underway, as the Minnesota fraud scandal and the response from the Trump administration continue to escalate.
“The more we uncover, the more it becomes clear: It’s much worse than we were led to believe by state government officials,” he said in a video posted to X. Oz said that the “corrective action plan” provided to the federal government by the state of Minnesota on New Year’s Eve was “deeply insufficient.”
“We will begin auditing Medicaid receipts and defer paying on claims based on fraud, waste, and abuse,” he said, noting that the programs listed as vulnerable came from the Minnesota state government.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨Minnesota Medicaid Fraud Update: <a href="https://t.co/Dk0W07P1U8">pic.twitter.com/Dk0W07P1U8</a>
— DrOzCMS (@DrOzCMS) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrOzCMS/status/2008737548009717925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
The Daily Wire reached out to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s office for comment on the remarks from Oz.
The announcement comes after Health and Human Services said last week that federal child care payments would be paused as well. Governor Walz opted not to seek re-election amid the intense scrutiny from fraud allegations within the Medicaid system and other federally funded, state-administered social services programs.
On Tuesday, an <a href="https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/meeting/mm/mm_Auditor_LAC-20260106-DHSBHAG-Pres.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">audit</a> from the Office of the Legislative Auditor underscored concerns in the state with a critical look at Behavioral Health Administration Grants through the state’s Department of Human Services.
The report said that the Behavioral Health Administration “did not comply with most requirements [the audit] tested.” The report recommended that BHA “Establish sufficient internal controls to ensure compliance with grant requirements” and “conduct grant monitoring activities as required by state policies.”
Specifically, the report said that the BHA “paid almost $296,000 to 11 out of 18 grantees for: Unsupported costs [and] Reimbursement requests with errors.” It also said that BHA “overpaid” over $41,000 to two entities with grants, and gave “$915,540 to 6 grantees for work performed before BHA executed grant agreements.” In addition, over a dozen “existing grantees” received $2.5 million despite “bypassing [the] competitive grant award process.”
In response to the audit’s findings, Shireen Gandhi, the temporary commissioner for Minnesota&#8217;s Department of Human Services, said the findings are a “road map” for improvement at a legislative hearing on Tuesday.
“With respect to the audit report, while it’s upsetting that DHS has findings in areas we have placed concerted effort, the OLA’s report highlights the importance of the grant compliance work already underway at the department. And the findings provide us with a road map for our focus going forward to continue strengthening oversight and integrity of behavioral health grants,” Gandhi said. “I take the report seriously, I accept responsibility for the findings, and I will ensure DHS closes the findings.”
In Washington, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing regarding the fraud concerns.
&#8220;The breadth and depth of this fraud is breathtaking, and I fear that this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said during the hearing.
Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, took aim at the Trump administration while explaining his decision not to pursue a third term as governor.
“I won’t mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies – in Washington, in St. Paul, and online – want to make our state a colder, meaner place,” the Democrat stated.
“They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors. And, ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in America to raise a family. They’ve already begun by taking our tax dollars that were meant to help families afford child care. And they have no intention of stopping there,” the governor added.

dea60e29-a11e-4e96-8a5e-3a6f3ffdaef8

Dr. Oz Blasts Minnesota’s ‘Deeply Insufficient’ Plan As Feds Audit Medicaid Payments

'Deeply Insufficient' Minnesota Plan Blasted By Dr. Oz As Feds Audit Medicaid Payments

Dr. Oz

Fraud

Medicaid

Minnesota

For the first time in decades, the nation&#8217;s childhood vaccine schedule is getting a major overhaul. 
Under the new guidance, issued Monday after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-to-shake-up-childhood-vax-schedule-what-comes-next?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Wants+To+Shake+Up+Childhood+Vaccines+To+Mirror+Denmark.+Here’s+What+That+Could+Mean+For+Parents">President Donald Trump ordered the department to review the United States&#8217; vaccine schedule</a> in relation to other developed nations, there are fewer shots recommended for kids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now advises vaccines for eleven diseases instead of eighteen, aligning more closely with Denmark’s approach.
Dropped from the vaccine schedule are recommendations for Hep B, Rotavirus, MenACWY, Hep A, and the flu shot. Still recommended for all children — not those who are specifically high-risk — are the vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), and chickenpox.
Health officials say their assessment, which reviewed 20 developed peer nations&#8217; schedules, found that the United States is a &#8220;global outlier&#8221; among developed nations in both the number of diseases addressed in its routine vaccine schedule, as well as the total number of recommended doses, while still not achieving higher vaccination rates than the other nations.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a longtime critic of the vaccine industry. Last summer, his agency moved to fire all seventeen members of the government&#8217;s advisory committee on vaccines, saying &#8220;a clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science.&#8221;
He has argued that the government health agencies have for years been a &#8220;rubber stamp&#8221; for the pharmaceutical industry, which has prioritized profits over science.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-to-shake-up-childhood-vax-schedule-what-comes-next?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Wants+To+Shake+Up+Childhood+Vaccines+To+Mirror+Denmark.+Here’s+What+That+Could+Mean+For+Parents">RFK Wants To Shake Up Childhood Vaccines To Mirror Denmark. Here’s What That Could Mean For Parents</a>
The changes, his top officials argue, are aimed at restoring public trust after the COVID pandemic, not discouraging vaccination. 
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All vaccinations recommended by the CDC as of December 31, 2025, will continue to be fully covered by Affordable Care Act plans, and in insurance plans and federal insurance programs like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Vaccines for Children program.
A press release from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.&#8217;s Health and Human Services said insurance &#8220;will continue to cover more vaccines for children in the United States than in peer nations, where insurance generally only pays for recommended vaccines.&#8221;
As for what&#8217;s coming next, health care providers will soon have access to the updated Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule by Age (through age 18) of immunization recommendations for all children, immunization recommendations for certain high-risk groups or populations, and immunizations based on shared clinical decision-making, according to HHS.
Additionally, the department is working with states and physician groups to educate parents and providers on the updated schedule. The CDC says it will closely monitor vaccine uptake, infectious disease rates, and vaccine safety.
&nbsp;

Syringe and Coronavirus vaccine

RFK Jr. Orders Major Overhaul Of Childhood Vaccine Schedule

Children

Vaccines

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is launching its once-daily Wegovy pill in the United States on Monday, offering doses of 1.5 milligrams and 4 mg at $149 per month for self-paying patients in an intensely competitive weight-loss drug market.
The pill was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month, a boon to Novo Nordisk as it looks to regain ground lost to U.S. rival Eli Lilly. Lilly has previously said it expects a decision in March for its own weight-loss pill.
Novo&#8217;s pill will also be sold in 9 mg and a higher long-term dose of 25 mg. The two higher doses will be priced at $299 for a month&#8217;s supply, while the 4 mg dose will rise to $199 from April 15, the drugmaker&#8217;s website shows.
The Wegovy pill could attract new consumers as Novo looks to revive its fortunes after profit warnings and sliding shares last year. The treatment offers more flexibility and an alternative for those who dislike needles used in injectable medication.
The once-daily pill is also under review by other regulators, with a UK decision due by year-end.
Denmark-listed shares of the drugmaker closed 5% higher on Monday. U.S.-listed shares of Novo were up 4.6%, while Lilly slipped 3.5% in afternoon trading.
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The success of Novo&#8217;s pill will be tied to attracting cash-paying consumers who cannot get insurance coverage, a stark shift from the dominant business model where drug pricing is managed through health insurance plans.
Novo said the treatment would be available through U.S. pharmacies CVS and Costco, as well as through telehealth providers including Ro, LifeMD, WeightWatchers, GoodRx and its own NovoCare Pharmacy.
Shares of the telehealth firms rose between 3% and 14% in afternoon trading.
The low 1.5 mg dose is the starter dose for the Wegovy pill, which is made up of semaglutide, the same active ingredient found in its blockbuster injectable weight-loss and diabetes treatments marketed under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic.
Novo also offers the 1.5 mg dose for its oral semaglutide drug for type 2 diabetes, sold as Rybelsus.
The remaining doses of the Wegovy pill will be available for patients by the end of this week, Novo said.
Lilly plans to cap higher doses of its obesity pill, if approved, at $399 a month for repeat cash buyers. Lilly&#8217;s injectable drug Zepbound has largely been ahead of Novo&#8217;s Wegovy in weekly U.S. prescriptions over the past year.
U.S. list prices for the injectables are about $1,000 per month or more. Both companies have reduced prices of their injectables for customers paying in cash rather than using health insurance.
Novo began selling its Wegovy injection at $349 a month to cash payers in November.
Under a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, Novo and Lilly also agreed to offer starter doses of their weight-loss pills at $149 per month for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees, and to cash payers via the White House&#8217;s new direct-to-consumer TrumpRx site, which is expected to be launched this month.
Novo had faced repeated supply shortages after launching its Wegovy injection in the U.S. But having built up supplies for its new pill for some time to prevent similar challenges, Novo said it was confident it could meet supply needs.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen, Bhanvi Satija and Maggie Fick in London, writing by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by Terje Solsvik, Adam Jourdan, Bernadette Baum and Alan Barona)

Pills

No More ‘Fat Shot’: Wegovy Now Launching In Pill Form

Obesity

Ozempic

President Donald Trump said on Friday that White House doctors gave him a &#8220;perfect&#8221; bill of health, adding that he &#8220;ACED&#8221; another cognitive exam as questions again swirl about the president&#8217;s health following a new Wall Street Journal report.
Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115825378093317232">wrote</a> in a post on Truth Social that White House doctors &#8220;just reported that I am in &#8216;PERFECT HEALTH,&#8217; and that I &#8216;ACED&#8217; (Meaning, was correct on 100% of the questions asked!), for the third straight time, my Cognitive Examination, something which no other President, or previous Vice President, was willing to take.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s statement came one day after the Wall Street Journal published an <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/as-signs-of-aging-emerge-trump-responds-with-defiance-769c5dcd?mod=hp_lead_pos1">interview</a> in which the president discussed his health as he approaches 80. In the interview with the Journal, Trump admitted to taking more aspirin than his doctors recommend, which he said led to bruising visible in photographs showing his hand.
<div id="attachment_1022375" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1022375" class="wp-image-1022375 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2231378151-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2231378151-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2231378151-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2231378151-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2231378151.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />President Donald Trump during a meeting with Lee Jae Myung, South Korea&#8217;s president, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, August 25, 2025. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
“They’d rather have me take the smaller one,” Trump said of his aspirin dosage. “I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”
Trump told the Journal that he continues to take the larger dose of aspirin because he&#8217;s been doing it for 25 years, adding, &#8220;I&#8217;m a little superstitious.&#8221;
“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?”
The Journal reported that Trump&#8217;s hands have bled easily on multiple occasions, including at the 2024 Republican National Convention, when now-Attorney General Pam Bondi caused Trump&#8217;s hand to bleed when her ring nicked him during a high-five. White House aides told the Journal that Trump&#8217;s hands have been cut other times as well.
To conceal the cuts and the bruising, Trump said, “I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds.”
Trump&#8217;s doctor, Sean Barbabella, revealed in July that the president also has chronic venous insufficiency, a &#8220;benign, common condition&#8221; for people over 70, that causes swelling in his legs. Trump said that since July, the swelling has improved as he has walks around more often instead of remaining at his desk.
Trump acknowledged for weeks that he underwent an MRI scan at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in October, but when asked about the scan by the Journal, Trump corrected his previous statements, saying, “It wasn’t an MRI. It was less than that. It was a scan.” Barbabella told the Journal that Trump had a CT scan to check for any cardiovascular issues, and the scan came back showing no problems.
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Trump also faced criticism after he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_odLnavZCs">appeared</a> to fall asleep during a Cabinet meeting last month. The president denied dozing off during meetings or events at the White House, saying, “I&#8217;ll just close [my eyes]. It’s very relaxing to me.”
&#8220;Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink,&#8221; he added.
Trump has discussed his unusual sleep schedule in the past, saying he gets between four and five hours each night. The president often texts, posts on Truth Social, or calls his aides and advisers in the early hours of the morning.
“I’ve never been a big sleeper,” Trump told the Journal.
Despite little sleep and nearing 80, Trump kept a jam-packed schedule throughout the first year of his second term. The president admitted that he doesn’t exercise much because he finds it &#8220;boring&#8221; and attributed his good health to his &#8220;very good genetics.&#8221;
Trump said on Friday, &#8220;I strongly believe that anyone running for President, or Vice President, should be mandatorily forced to take a strong, meaningful, and proven Cognitive Examination. Our great Country cannot be run by &#8216;STUPID&#8217; or INCOMPETENT PEOPLE!&#8221;

Trump Says He ‘ACED’ Another Cognitive Test After More Questions Swirl About His Health

Doctors

Executive

Wall Street Journal

White House

Editor’s note: This week, we’re reprinting some of our best stories from the past year. This piece, originally published in September, discusses the dangerous drug sold at gas stations across the country derived from kratom.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary says his agency is working to get ahead of what could be the “fourth wave” of the deadly opioid crisis by targeting a substance derived from the kratom plant that is being sold to young people in gas stations and vape shops all across the nation.
The concentrated compound, 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, is up to 13 times more potent than morphine, according to Makary. Deceptive marketing and easy access are helping fuel its spread, luring in an increasing number of young Americans.
“We can’t get caught flat-footed again,” Makary recently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-9RKbVl_m8">warned</a>. “We got burned with fentanyl, we got burned with prescription drugs. We cannot get behind the eight ball again. This may be the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic. Concentrated, synthetic, 7-OH may be the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic.”
“7-OH, people need to know, is an opioid,” he emphasized. “You can walk down the street in almost any neighborhood in America and buy an opioid.”
The kratom plant is native to Southeast Asia. In its natural state, some people find it to have healthful and medicinal qualities. The FDA has made clear that it’s not focusing on the natural kratom leaf. They’re targeting concentrated and synthetic forms of kratom, or 7-OH.
At the end of July, the FDA recommended that 7-OH be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, making it illegal to sell or possess. The agency says it’s an opioid that comes with significant health risks, including addiction and overdose.
Some people may not have even heard of kratom before, but they’ve likely seen kratom-derived 7-OH products in gas stations, corner stores, vape shops, or even online. Kratom, overall, is a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. – and it’s growing fast. In just a few years, the industry is expected to almost double in size.
7-OH is sold in a variety of forms, including powders, vapes, drinks, pills, and products that appeal to children, such as <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-steps-restrict-7-oh-opioid-products-threatening-american-consumers?utm_source=chatgpt.com">fruit-flavored gummies and even ice cream cones</a>.
<div id="attachment_967745" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-967745" class="wp-image-967745 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-864x576.jpg" alt=" In this photo illustration, a bottle with Kratom liquid and bags of capsules with the herbal supplement Kratom inside are seen on May 10, 2016 in Miami, Florida. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Joe Raedle/Getty Images</div>
These products are often inaccurately labeled concerning their 7-OH content, and can be disguised or marketed as merely the kratom plant. There’s also no federal age restriction on these products, though <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kratom-targeted-crackdowns-states-cities-rcna166661">several states</a> now prohibit the sale of such products to minors.
As far as widespread harm, especially to young Americans, the data are mixed – or perhaps underreported, and too early to tell.
The CDC says there have been some overdose deaths associated with kratom products, but often other substances were also involved. There was also a <a href="https://project.tampabay.com/investigations/deadly-dose/kratom-overdose-deaths-florida-mitragynine-testing/">recent report</a> from the Tampa Bay Times that links kratom products to hundreds of deaths just in the state of Florida, over the past decade. Additionally, more and more anecdotal accounts of 7-OH-related addictions and deaths fill the web, though they remain unverified.
A toxicologist and emergency physician from Albany Medical Center, Dr. Alicia Tudor, believes kratom-related harms are being underreported, specifically regarding overdoses.
“I’ll see it in the emergency department and then probably more often in the addiction clinic that I work at as well,” Tudor <a href="https://cbs6albany.com/news/wellness-watch/ballston-spa-mother-advocates-for-kratom-regulation-after-sons-death-controlled-substance-legislation-bill-protest-overdose-toxicology">told</a> WRGB.
Toxicology tests are not always given when patients come in for an overdose, she said. “Then the results would come back, you know, weeks later, and at that point, the patient’s been discharged and doing better,” Tudor added.
<div id="attachment_967751" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-967751" class="wp-image-967751 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-864x576.jpg" alt="Cari Scribner with photos of her son, Nickolas, on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in her home Ballston Spa, NY. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jim Franco/Albany Times Union via Getty Images</div>
New York mother Cari Scribner wants action taken on these highly concentrated kratom products. Her 27-year-old son, Nickolas, died last year from what appears to have been a kratom-related death.
Scribner <a href="https://cbs6albany.com/news/wellness-watch/ballston-spa-mother-advocates-for-kratom-regulation-after-sons-death-controlled-substance-legislation-bill-protest-overdose-toxicology">says</a> her son started using the products to manage anxiety, depression, and insomnia, believing it was merely an “all natural herbal, energy, and health supplement.”
In a similar tragedy, Makary relayed the contents of a letter from a grieving stepfather of a young man who had finally quit addiction, only to purchase 7-OH without being aware of its contents.
“He called me on May 31 to tell me he had stopped at the vape shop to buy a vape and was offered a fruity pill, and was told that it was kratom,” Makary read the letter aloud. “He said that he took the pill and became addicted, and should have done his research. He died the night he took two 20 mg 7-OH pills. The wrapper was at his bedside. There were no other drugs or alcohol in the house.”
While kratom has been widely used in the U.S. for some time, concentrated 7-OH has only risen in popularity within the last five years. Ultimately, the FDA is moving to stop the substance from causing more widespread harm before it’s too late.
And it’s not just the FDA taking action. Florida is leading the way on the state level. Earlier this month, Florida AG James Uthmeier announced an emergency rule to classify 7-OH as a Schedule I controlled substance. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine has also <a href="https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/governor-dewine-calls-on-pharmacy-board-to-schedule-+kratom-compounds-as-illegal-drugs">urged</a> the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to designate synthetic and natural kratom compounds as illegal drugs. Additionally, a number of other states have moved to add age restrictions for 7-OH or limitations on concentrations of the compound.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is currently reviewing the FDA’s recommendation to effectively ban 7-OH.

Kratom

Best Of 2025: This Drug Is Sold in Your Gas Station. It May Trigger the ‘Fourth Wave’ Of The Opioid Crisis.

Drugs

Prescription Drugs

Former Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse revealed on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, adding that he is &#8220;gonna die.&#8221;
Sasse, a 53-year-old husband and father of three, <a href="https://x.com/BenSasse/status/2003483746540965891">announced</a> the tragic news in a lengthy social media post, saying that the diagnosis is a &#8220;death sentence.&#8221;
&#8220;Friends- This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die,&#8221; Sasse wrote. &#8220;Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.&#8221;
Sasse, who represented Nebraska in the U.S. Senate for eight years, resigned from his seat in 2022 and, shortly after, was appointed the president of the University of Florida. He <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-gop-senator-ben-sasse-announces-he-is-stepping-down-as-university-of-florida-president">stepped down</a> from leading the University of Florida in July of 2024 after revealing that his wife was dealing with a serious medical condition and had suffered an aneurysm and a series of strokes. During his time as president of Florida, Sasse took a strong stance against anti-Israel protesters in the wake of Hamas&#8217; terrorist attack on Israel and said the university would &#8220;draw a hard line at unlawful action.&#8221;
Sasse was a staunch pro-life advocate in the U.S. Senate and constantly pushed the U.S. government to remain tough on China. He has also been a strong critic of President Donald Trump since Trump first stepped into the political spotlight in 2016.
The former Republican senator said on Tuesday, &#8220;I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad.&#8221; Sasse added that he is relying on his Christian faith to get him through his recent cancer diagnosis.
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&#8220;There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst. As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Not an abstract hope in fanciful human goodness; not hope in vague hallmark-sappy spirituality; not a bootstrapped hope in our own strength (what foolishness is the evaporating-muscle I once prided myself in). Nope — often we lazily say &#8216;hope&#8217; when what we mean is &#8216;optimism.&#8217; To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape.&#8221;

Ben Sasse

Former Senator Ben Sasse Reveals Stage-Four Cancer Diagnosis: ‘I’ve Got Less Time Than I’d Prefer’

Cancer

U.S. Senate

A Stanford Medicine research team has confirmed that mRNA-based COVID vaccines can cause inflammation of the heart muscle, known as myocarditis, which can be fatal.
The study, recently <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/12/myocarditis-vaccine-covid.html">published</a> in the journal &#8220;Science Translational Medicine,&#8221; concludes that these mRNA vaccines can trigger certain immune cells to produce inflammatory proteins, specifically CXCL10 and IFN-gamma, which can cause heart issues.
“It’s not a heart attack in the traditional sense,” Dr. Joseph Wu, a senior author of the study and the director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, explained. “There’s no blockage of blood vessels as found in most common heart attacks. When symptoms are mild and the inflammation hasn’t caused structural damage to the heart, we just observe these patients to make sure they recover.”
Some patients, though, can suffer severe complications, including death, Wu said.
The researcher confirmed that COVID itself &#8220;can cause myocarditis,&#8221; and &#8220;to a lesser extent, so can the mRNA vaccines.&#8221;
For reasons still unknown, the vaccines are tied to a heightened risk in males under the age of 30, particularly those who receive multiple doses, the study found.
&#8220;Vaccine-associated myocarditis occurs in about one in every 140,000 vaccines after a first dose and rises to one in 32,000 after a second dose,&#8221; Stanford Medicine News Center <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/12/myocarditis-vaccine-covid.html">said</a>. &#8220;For reasons that aren’t clear, incidence peaks among male vaccines age 30 or below, at one in 16,750 vaccines.&#8221;
Recently, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad proposed in an internal memo an overhaul to how vaccines are evaluated and approved, basically initiating tougher standards.
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This would reportedly include full randomized clinical trials even for updated or routine vaccines, like the flu shot. The changes would allow for an evaluation of real-world protection, not just antibody levels, as well as rates of side effects, and more information on risk-benefit analysis. 
Notably, the memo cited at least 10 children who died “after and because of” receiving COVID vaccines as the apparent driving force behind the tougher vaccine standards.
The medical establishment quickly revolted over the proposed standards. For example, twelve former FDA officials denounced the memo in an editorial, claiming it casts doubt on vaccine safety. They also said the new standards “reject long-standing science” and will slow innovation. 
In response to the backlash from the establishment, Health and Human Services (HHS) press secretary Emily Hilliard told The Daily Wire that the American people “deserve evidence-based science,” and said Dr. Prasad’s email “lays out a philosophical framework that points us toward that higher standard.”
Hilliard also said HHS will “soon release documents laying out that framework” as well as data confirming how the COVID-19 vaccine resulted in children’s deaths that &#8220;previous leadership failed to properly investigate.”
The FDA is also currently <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/09/vaccine-covid-coronavirus-safety-fda/">investigating</a> adult deaths connected to the COVID vaccines.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maha-supporter-destroys-famed-doctor-attacking-rfk-jr-in-under-2-minutes?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=MAHA+Supporter+Destroys+Famed+Doctor+Attacking+RFK+Jr.+In+Under+2+Minutes">MAHA Supporter Destroys Famed Doctor Attacking RFK Jr. In Under 2 Minutes</a>

C3E7E190-C1F9-4BA8-98D4-18E81D97EBC2_1_201_a

Stanford Researchers Confirm COVID Vax Can Cause Fatal Myocarditis

COVID

COVID-19 Vaccine

Pandemic

A famed doctor with tens of millions of followers on social media was recently schooled on the issues plaguing public health by a supporter of the &#8220;Make America Healthy Again&#8221; agenda.
Mikhail Varshavski, known online as Dr. Mike, argued on a recent episode of Jubilee&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y90R8BPc8Ag">Surrounded</a>&#8221; that Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should step down from his position, citing cuts to bureaucracy within the department.
A supporter of the MAHA movement named Brian needed under two minutes to decimate Dr. Mike&#8217;s argument.
&#8220;So considering all of that &#8230; where did that get us?&#8221; the MAHA supporter asked Dr. Mike, responding to specific HHS cuts cited by the online personality.
Notably, Secretary Kennedy has defended cuts to HHS, citing absurd bureaucracy and overlapping offices that he contends are wasteful and not helping improve public health.
&#8220;Look at the state of America, of Americans&#8217; health, and you tell me that the public is actually healthy,&#8221; Brian dared Dr. Mike. &#8220;What RFK is doing is he is saying, &#8216;enough is enough, something has to change.&#8217; And I will say this very politely &#8212; I think that you have to be f***ing insane to say &#8216;more&#8217; is somehow going to get us out of the current public health crisis that we have right now.&#8221;
&#8220;Americans are fat and they are sick and it is not getting better, and taking more and more money and continuing to flush it down the toilet is not going to solve the problem,&#8221; he continued.
&#8220;We know what will stop cancer dead in its tracks. We know what will stop all chronic disease dead in its tracks. Do you know what it is?&#8221; Brian asked.
&#8220;Lifestyle changes,&#8221; Dr. Mike responded.
&#8220;Lifestyle changes,&#8221; the MAHA supporter agreed. &#8220;The American Heart Association has known about this for years, that the most important predictor of longevity, risk of chronic disease, all-cause mortality is <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/cir.0000000000000461">VO2 max</a>. So why aren&#8217;t doctors &#8212; why isn&#8217;t the government creating a public health system that says, &#8216;you know what, we&#8217;re gonna focus on VO2 max because even if we stopped every dollar we had [going] into cancer research right now, and we took that money and we said, let&#8217;s get people moving, let&#8217;s increase their VO2 max.'&#8221;
&#8220;The question is, when is enough enough to admit that the system you are a part of has drastically failed Americans?&#8221; Brian posed.
The supporter added that Secretary Kennedy, &#8220;by the very fact of how he looks in his 70s, does more to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle and truly make America healthy again.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🔥 Dr. Mike Claims RFK Jr is ‘Decimating Public Health’, Gets Lit Up by a MAHA Supporter
“Look at the state of America and you tell me that the public is actually healthy. What RFK is doing is he is saying enough is enough, something has to change. I will say this very politely,… <a href="https://t.co/3yAeFCB0b9">pic.twitter.com/3yAeFCB0b9</a>
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1997734282479988779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-shakes-up-childhood-vax-schedule-with-hep-b-decision?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Shakes+Up+Childhood+Vax+Schedule+With+Hep+B+Decision">RFK Jr. Shakes Up Childhood Vax Schedule With Hep B Decision</a>

MAHA supporter

MAHA Supporter Destroys Famed Doctor Attacking RFK Jr. In Under 2 Minutes

Disease

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