Early in Donald Trump’s news conference on Tuesday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked a question that surely baffled people who avoided social media for Labour Day.
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“How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead?” Doocy said to the president.
Doocy was referring to speculation about Trump’s health that spread online during the long weekend, fuelled in part by the president’s relative absence from the public for several days. The incident has renewed – for a different president – questions about how journalists should handle the sensitive issue of how healthy an ageing leader of the free world actually is.
Trump said he was more active than had been apparent publicly, and criticised the media. “It’s fake news – it’s so fake,” he said. “That’s why the media has so little credibility.”
A familiar issue
A year ago, President Joe Biden, now 82, abandoned his reelection effort after a halting, confused performance in a debate with Trump provoked concerns about his ability to serve another four-year term. Journalists who covered the White House faced attacks for not doing enough to investigate Biden’s health and condition.
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