The Steady Drip: Does Aspirin Put Trump at Risk? Doctors Urge Caution (Connecting the Dots: Bayer (Aspirin), Siemens, Monsanto, The Commercial Club of Chicago, Sidley Austin LLP, The Economic Club of Washington, Letitia James, Columbia University, Zohran Mamdani, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Does Aspirin Put Trump at Risk? Doctors Urge Caution (Connecting the Dots: Bayer (Aspirin), Siemens, Monsanto, The Commercial Club of Chicago, Sidley Austin LLP, The Economic Club of Washington, Letitia James, Columbia University, Zohran Mamdani, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Newsmax.com

By Newsmax Wires | Thursday, 01 January 2026 09:40 PM EST

https://www.newsmax.com/us/donald-trump-aspirin-bruising/2026/01/01/id/1240474/

President Donald Trump revealed in a Thursday interview with The Wall Street Journal that he is taking a 325-milligram dose of aspirin daily — four times the low-dose (often called baby aspirin) that many doctors recommend for people with cardiovascular disease.

The president's daily regimen has led to easy bruising and bleeding, raising concerns in media reports.

Trump, 79, defended his choice as a longtime habit intended to "keep blood thin" and protect his heart, even though his physicians have advised a lower dose.

The president said he has taken the higher dose for about 25 years and is reluctant to change what he calls a routine that has worked for him.

"I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart," Trump told the WSJ.

He acknowledged that the higher aspirin dose makes him bruise more easily, particularly on his hands, where marks have been visible in recent months.

White House physician Capt. Sean Barbabella confirmed Trump's daily use of 325 mg of aspirin for "cardiac prevention," noting that doctors would prefer he take the lower 81 mg dose — a regimen most commonly recommended for adults at risk for heart attacks or strokes.

Aspirin's role in cardiovascular care has evolved significantly.

Historically, low-dose aspirin (usually 75-100 mg, often 81 mg) was widely used to prevent first or recurrent heart attacks and strokes because it inhibits platelet aggregation, reducing blood clot formation.

However, multiple modern studies and guidelines have raised caution about routine aspirin use in older adults — especially those without a history of cardiovascular disease:

-- A large NIH-funded trial found that daily aspirin in healthy older adults didn't improve longevity or prevent heart disease, stroke, or disability compared with placebo.

-- The 2022 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and ACC/AHA recommendations advise against starting low-dose aspirin in adults 60-70 or older without established cardiovascular disease because the bleeding risks often outweigh benefits.

-- A pragmatic study comparing 81 mg vs. 325 mg of aspirin in patients with known cardiovascular disease found no significant difference in preventing major events but noted higher rates of dose switching and elevated bleeding risk with the higher dose.

For many older adults, aspirin — even at low doses — carries a real risk of bleeding (including gastrointestinal or intracranial bleeding). These risks increase with age and higher doses.

Why Trump May Be at Risk

At 79, Trump falls into an age group for whom aspirin use is especially controversial.

The heart benefit in people who have never had a heart attack or stroke is limited, and the potential for serious bleeding complications increases with age.

For those over 70 without a history of cardiovascular disease, many specialists now recommend against daily aspirin for primary prevention.

Higher doses like 325 mg daily — compared with 81 mg — have not shown superior heart protection but do pose a greater risk of bleeding, including easy bruising and, in rare cases, internal hemorrhage.

Trump's own symptoms — visible bruises on his hands — are consistent with the antiplatelet, blood-thinning effects of aspirin, which reduce clotting but make the skin and tissues more susceptible to bleeding from minor bumps or injuries.

Modern professional guidelines suggest that aspirin should generally be reserved for people with established cardiovascular disease or after careful individualized assessment of benefits vs. risks.

Many cardiologists now emphasize that for primary prevention in older adults, aspirin's harms often outweigh its modest benefits, and alternative therapies (including statins and lifestyle modification) are preferred.

In 2020, Trump's younger brother Robert died at age 71, reportedly related to his use of blood thinners taken after heart procedures.

Reports from The New York Times and other outlets stated that he had been taking blood thinners and had experienced brain bleeds after a fall. There was no indication he was taking aspirin.

The incident raises the increasing concerns and risks of the use of blood thinning medications by older Americans.

IG Farben

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IG_Farben

I. G. Farbenindustrie AG,[a] commonly known as IG Farben, was a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies: Agfa, BASF, Bayer, Griesheim-Elektron, Hoechst, and Weiler-ter-Meer.[2] It was seized by the Allies after World War II and split into its constituent companies; parts in East Germany were nationalized.

In the 1920s, the company had ties to the liberal nationalist German People's Party and was accused by the Nazis of being an "international capitalist Jewish company".[8] A decade later, it was a Nazi Party donor and, after the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933, a major government contractor, providing significant material for the German war effort. Throughout that decade it purged itself of its Jewish employees; the remainder left in 1938.[9] Described as "the most notorious German industrial concern during the Third Reich",[10] in the 1940s the company relied on slave labour from concentration camps, including 30,000 from Auschwitz,[11] and was involved in medical experiments on inmates at both Auschwitz and Mauthausen.[12][13] One of its subsidiaries supplied the poison gas Zyklon B, which killed over one million people in gas chambers during the Holocaust.

Siemens

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siemens

1933 to 1945

Siemens (at the time: Siemens-Schuckert) exploited the forced labour of deported people in extermination camps. The company owned a plant in Auschwitz concentration camp.

Monsanto

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

In September 2016, German chemical company Bayer announced its intent to acquire Monsanto for US$66 billion in an all-cash deal.[10] After gaining U.S. and EU regulatory approval, the sale was completed on June 7, 2018. The name Monsanto was no longer used, but Monsanto's previous product brand names were maintained.[11][12][13] In June 2020, Bayer agreed to pay numerous settlements in lawsuits involving ex-Monsanto products Roundup, PCBs and Dicamba.[14] Owing to the massive financial and reputational setbacks caused by ongoing litigation concerning Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, the Bayer-Monsanto merger is considered one of the worst corporate mergers in history.

Heroin

Bayer Heroin bottle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer#Heroin

Heroin

Heroin (diacetylmorphine), now illegal as an addictive drug, was introduced as a non-addictive substitute for morphine,[32] and trademarked and marketed by Bayer from 1898 to 1910 as a cough suppressant and over-the-counter treatment for other common ailments, including pneumonia and tuberculosis.[33] While Bayer scientists were not the first to make heroin, the company did lead the way in commercializing it.[34] Heroin was a Bayer trademark until after World War I.[35] Bayer's director of pharmacology did not want the drug to have "too complicated a name" so Bayer settled on heroisch, the German word for heroic.

Eye Problems and Blood in the Eye

Healthlinkbc

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthwise/eye-problems-and-blood-eye

Overview

Medicines that help prevent blood clots may increase the risk of bleeding in both the white or coloured part of the eye. When there is bleeding into the eye, do not take aspirin, aspirin-related products, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain because they can increase bleeding. Use acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) instead.

If you take prescription medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, they may not be enough to protect your heart.

Bayeraspirin.com

https://www.bayeraspirin.com/heart-health/heart-attack-prevention/medical-conditions-impact-on-heart/

Adding a doctor-directed Bayer® Aspirin regimen can help further reduce the risk of another heart attack or clot-related (ischemic) stroke. You should discuss with your doctor if adding an aspirin regimen with your prescribed medications is right for you.

Aspirin

Bottle of Bayer aspirin, 1899

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer#Early_history

Bayer's first major product was acetylsalicylic acid—first described by French chemist Charles Frederic Gerhardt in 1853[23]—a modification of salicylic acid or salicin, a folk remedy found in the bark of the willow plant.[24][25] By 1899, Bayer's trademark Aspirin was registered worldwide for Bayer's brand of acetylsalicylic acid, but it lost its trademark status in the United States, France and the United Kingdom after the confiscation of Bayer's US assets and trademarks during World War I by the United States, and because of the subsequent widespread usage of the word.

Connecting the Dots:

Camille Y. Johnston is the VP for Siemens AG and was the communications director for Michelle Obama in the Barack Obama administration.

Michelle Obama’s communications director was Camille Y. Johnston, a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP and is a friend of Valerie B. Jarrett.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Sidley Austin LLP is the lobby firm for Bayer HealthCare and Monsanto.

Cameron F. Kerry is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, John F. Kerry’s brother and a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Klaus Kleinfeld is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), was a supervisory board member for Bayer AG and the president & CEO for Siemens AG.

Bayer HealthCare is a subsidiary of Bayer AG.

Paul M. Achleitner is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supervisory board member for Bayer AG.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP and Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for Siemens AG, the Monsanto Company and was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Open Society Foundations was a funder at the Center for American Progress.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Apple Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

AT&T Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Bank of America Corp. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

BMW of North America LLC was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Citigroup Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Coca-Cola Company was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Facebook was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

General Electric Company was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (Bailout Company) was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Motion Picture Association of America was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

PepsiCo, Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

PG&E Corporation was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Samsung Electronics Co. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Time Warner Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

T-Mobile USA, Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Toyota Motor North America was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Visa Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Wells Fargo & Co. was a funder for the Center for American Progress.

Carol M. Browner is a director, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and was the energy czar for the Barack Obama administration.

Tom Daschle is a director at the Center for American Progress and was the nominee for health and human services secretary for the Barack Obama administration.

Ezekiel Emanuel is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and was the health care policy adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Lawrence H. Summers is a distinguished fellow at the Center for American Progress and was the National Economic Council chairman for the Barack Obama administration.

Cassandra Q. Butts was the SVP for the Center for American Progress and the deputy White House counsel for the Barack Obama administration.

Melody C. Barnes was the EVP for the Center for American Progress and the domestic policy council, director for the Barack Obama administration.

Philip J. Crowley was the director of homeland security at the Center for American Progress and the assistant secretary of state for the Barack Obama administration.

Derek Douglas was an associate director of economic policy at the Center for American Progress and a special assistant for urban affairs for the Barack Obama administration.

Bradley J. Kiley was a VP for the Center for American Progress and the director of management and administration for the Barack Obama administration.

Karen Kornbluh was a visiting scholar at the Center for American Progress and a policy director for Barack Obama.

Jeanne Lambrew was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and is the deputy assistant to the president for health policy for the Barack Obama administration.

Denis McDonough was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and is the chief of staff; former deputy national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Esther M. Olavarria was the director of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress and the deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the Barack Obama administration.

Dan Restrepo was the Americas Project director at the Center for American Progress and a special assistant to the president for the Barack Obama administration.

Gene B. Sperling was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and the assistant to the president for economic policy for the Barack Obama administration.

Todd Stern was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and the special envoy for climate change at the U.S. Department of State for the Barack Obama administration.

Center for American Progress was a funder for America's Health Insurance Plans.

Donald M. Berwick is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and was an administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Jose H. Villarreal is a director at the Center for American Progress and a senior adviser at the Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP was a funder for the Center for American Progress, is the lobby firm for Siemens AG and the Monsanto Company.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Valerie B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a friend of Michelle Obama and was the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

William M. Daley is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, was the chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration and a partner at Mayer Brown.

William M. Daley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Daley

Professional career

Daley returned to the practice of law, as a partner with the firm Mayer Brown (then Mayer, Brown & Platt) from 1993 to 1997.

Mayer Brown was the lobby firm for the Bayer Corporation.

Robert A. Helman is a partner at Mayer Brown, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Klaus Kleinfeld is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), was a supervisory board member for Bayer AG and the president & CEO for Siemens AG.

Bayer HealthCare is a subsidiary of Bayer AG.

Paul M. Achleitner is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a supervisory board member for Bayer AG.

Bayer HealthCare is a subsidiary of Bayer AG.

Sidley Austin LLP is the lobby firm for Bayer HealthCare and Monsanto.

R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Newton N. Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP and her communications director was Camille Y. Johnston.

Camille Y. Johnston was the communications director for Michelle Obama in the Barack Obama administration and is the VP for Siemens AG.

Klaus Kleinfeld was the president & CEO for Siemens AG, is a director at Bayer AG, a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Eric A. Spiegel is the president & CEO for the Siemens Corporation, a director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Siemens Corporation is the contractor for the Iraq reconstruction.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for Siemens AG, the Siemens Corporation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Monsanto Company and the Center for American Progress.

Open Society Foundations was a funder at the Center for American Progress.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress and the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Jose H. Villarreal is a director at the Center for American Progress and a senior adviser at the Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

James W. Cicconi was a partner at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, is a director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Eric A. Spiegel is a director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the president & CEO for the Siemens Corporation,

Siemens Corporation is the contractor for the Iraq reconstruction.

Klaus Kleinfeld is a director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a director at Bayer AG, a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and was the president & CEO for Siemens AG.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Mark B. McClellan was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Jessica Tuchman Mathews was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Donald Kennedy was a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and a commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Margaret A. Hamburg is the VP for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), David A. Hamburg’s daughter and was the commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Alger Hiss was the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and attended the Yalta Conference with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR).

Joseph Stalin attended the Yalta Conference and was the premier for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt attended the Yalta Conference with Alger Hiss, was the president for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration and his granddaughter is Laura Delano Roosevelt.

Laura Delano Roosevelt is Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR) granddaughter and a governor at the Roosevelt Institute.

Linda McKay Stevenson Weicker Roosevelt was married to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr and a governor & director for the Roosevelt Institute.

Jonathan Soros is a senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and George Soros’s son.

George Soros is Jonathan Soros’s father and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Roosevelt Institute.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt is the chair for the Roosevelt Institute, and an advisory board member for the Wheelchair Foundation.

Mikhail Gorbachev is an advisory board member for the Wheelchair Foundation, was the general secretary for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the founder for the Green Cross International.

Joseph Stalin was the premier for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and attended the Yalta Conference.

Ted Turner is an honorary board member for Green Cross International, the founder of CNN and a co-chairman for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the vice chair for the Sundance Institute and the Human Rights Watch.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch.

Robert Redford was the founder & president for the Sundance Institute and an honorary board member for Green Cross International.

Global Green USA is the US affiliate for Green Cross International.

Patricia E. Mitchell is a board member for Global Green USA, the vice chair for the Sundance Institute and was a director at the Human Rights Watch.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Sundance Institute and the Human Rights Watch.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch.

Gara LaMarche was the VP & director of U.S. programs for the Open Society Foundations, an associate director at the Human Rights Watch and a director at the White House Project.

Daisy Khan was a director at the White House Project, is a developer for Park51 and an executive director for the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

Beth A. Brooke is a director at the White House Project and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Letitia James is the chair for the Committee on Economic Development, the Attorney General of New York and received her MPA at Columbia University.

Mahmood Mamdani is a Ugandan academic, author, and political commentator and The Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and a professor of anthropology, political science and African studies at Columbia University and Zohran Mamdani’s father.

Zohran Mamdani is Mahmood Mamdani’s son, the mayor of New York City, co-founded the school's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

George E. Rupp was the president of Columbia University and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Lee C. Bollinger is the president of Columbia University and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Carol A. Melton was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and a director at the Economic Club of Washington.

Robert G. Liberatore was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and a director at the Economic Club of Washington.

David M. Rubenstein is the president of the Economic Club of Washington, a co-founder & co-CEO for the Carlyle Group, co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and Joe Biden spent Thanksgiving with him.

Jerome H. Powell (Jay) was a partner at the Carlyle Group and is the Chairman for the Federal Reserve System.

Edward J. Mathias is a managing director at the Carlyle Group and a director at the Economic Club of Washington.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was the president of the Economic Club of Washington, is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle.