Mike Pence says he doesn’t recall being on standby during Trump’s Walter Reed trip

Vice President Mike Pence has said that he doesn’t recall being asked to go on standby to assume the presidency during President Donald Trump’s unannounced visit to Walter Reed Medical Center in November, after reports emerged this week that Trump was suffering from mini-strokes at the time.

‘I don’t recall being told to be on standby,’ Pence told Fox News in an interview on Tuesday. ‘I was informed that the president had a doctor’s appointment, [but] I’ve got to tell you, part of this job is you are always on standby if you are Vice President of the United States.’

The vice president also insisted that the ‘American people can be confident that this president is in remarkable good health, and every single day I see that energy.’ 

Trump’s unusual visit to Walter Reed resurfaced in the news this week, when New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt claimed in an upcoming book that Pence was asked to be on standby during the visit in case Trump had to be anesthetized for a procedure. 

CNN pundit Joe Lockhart, who served as White House press secretary under President Bill Clinton, then floated in a tweet his speculation that Trump was covering up a stroke. 

The Drudge Report poured fuel on the controversy by linking to a video that purportedly shows Trump dragging his right foot. 

Trump has furiously denied the claims, and the White House has insisted since November that the visit was part of the president’s routine physical — despite the trip not appearing on Trump’s schedule and the White House press pool being ordered not to report Trump’s departure from the residence until he arrived at Walter Reed. 

‘It never ends! Now they are trying to say that your favorite President, me, went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered a series of mini-strokes,’ Trump wrote on Twitter. ‘Never happened to THIS candidate — FAKE NEWS. Perhaps they are referring to another candidate from another Party!’ 

‘Drudge didn’t support me in 2016, and I hear he doesn’t support me now. Maybe that’s why he is doing poorly,’ Trump tweeted Tuesday evening. ‘His Fake News report on Mini-Strokes is incorrect. Possibly thinking about himself, of the other party’s ‘candidate,” Trump wrote. 

Lockhart’s tweet had gotten little attention among mainstream reporters until the president brought up those claims Tuesday morning.  

‘It never ends! Now they are trying to say that your favorite President, me, went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered a series of mini-strokes. Never happened to THIS candidate – FAKE NEWS. Perhaps they are referring to another candidate from another Party!’ Trump wrote – making the suggested that Biden had suffered a stroke without offering evidence. 

A new book offered explosive revalations that Vice President Mike Pence was on standby during the president’s unscheduled 2019 trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, which the White House said at the time was because Trump had a ‘free weekend.’ 

Pence has since denied that he was ever on-call.  

As the book’s author, New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt noted online, his book’s dive into the Walter Reed trip included nothing about mini-strokes. 

After setting off new rounds of speculation by bringing up the issue, Trump directed the White House physician to release a statement stating that he had never been treated for a ‘cerebrovascular accident.’  

‘President Donald J Trump has asked that I, Dr. Sean Conley, Physician to the President, address the recent public comments regarding his health,’ said Dr. Sean P. Conley, physician to the president, in a statement released by the White House.  

‘I can confirm that President Trump has not experienced nor been evaluated for a cerebrovascular accident (stroke), transient ischemic attack (mini stroke), or any acute cardiovascular emergencies, as have been incorrectly reported in the media.’

He continued: ‘The President remains healthy and I have no concerns about his ability to maintain the rigorous schedule ahead of him. As stated in my last report, I expect him to remain fit to execute the duties of the Presidency.’

On Monday Lockhart had tweeted, ‘Did @realDonaldTrump have a stroke which he is hiding from the American public?’

On August 1, crime author Don Winslow tweeted out a video clip of Trump repeatedly slurring his words during a December 2017 speech on Israel. 

Winslow claimed to have heard from ‘whistleblowers’ inside the Trump administration about the president’s health.

‘I’ve received three communications saying that during his term Trump has suffered a ‘series’ of ‘mini-strokes,’ Winslow wrote.

‘Let us rethink old assumptions and open our hearts and minds to possible and possibilities,’ Trump says in the clip, flubbing a prepared line. He even slurred his closing line when he said ‘God Bless the United States.’

Then-White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said at the time when questioned about Trump’s performance: ‘The president’s throat was dry, nothing more than that.’ 

Winslow tweeted Tuesday afternoon following Trump’s denial: ‘More than a dozen Secret Service agents are aware of Donald Trump’s medical condition and mini-strokes.’        

Trump was seen on video during a July video of his trip to a laboratory in North Carolina seemingly dragging his right foot while touring the facility. 

This was the video that the Drudge Report shared.  

In January, Trump could be seen shuffling his feet as he moved to his right while clapping at the March for Live in Washington, D.C. 

In November 2019, the president made an unannounced trip to the hospital for ‘quick exam and labs’ as part of his annual physical exam out of anticipation of a ‘very busy 2020,’ the White House said at the time.

But the surprise nature of the trip lead to questions about the president’s medical condition.

In a statement at the time of Trump’s hospital visit, then-White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said that Trump had undergone a ‘quick exam and labs’ and that he ‘remains healthy and energetic without complaints.’ 

She also said that the president had taken advantage of a ‘free weekend’ in Washington to ‘begin portions of his routine annual physical exam.’