Coffee Talk with Tiff

January 1, 2026 12:47 pm EST Tiff Coffee Talk with Tiff 0
Coffee. Photo by Jonathan Thursfield.

It’s Thursday…

January GIFfrom January GIFs

President Shitshow’s public schedule for…

01/01/2026:

The new year begins quietly. Officially, nothing is happening today.

Off the schedule, however, yesterday’s release of Jack Smith’s deposition landed with real weight. This morning, the Wall Street Journal published an article on President Trump’s health. It wasn’t investigative or confrontational, but it was notable simply for existing.

In a landscape where some subjects are treated as impolite, even mild acknowledgment becomes news.

Jack Smith is Fire…

The House Judiciary Committee released the deposition of Special Counsel Jack Smith on 12/31/2025. The 255 page transcript can be found here. The YouTube is 8 hours and 21 minutes long.

I have not watched the whole video of the deposition. During a TikTok live that was reading along and watching the transcript. I rushed to save this exchange with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-MAGA-Ohio):

Here are highlights from Politico reporter Kyle Cheney:

I hope to find the time over the next few days to listen and read more testimony.


President Perfect MRI really got a CT Scan…

I slept in cause I managed to ring in the New Year on all the coasts. When I logged into twitter to see how January 1st, 2026 was shaking out, I saw this.

Wall Street Journal (gift link–01/01/2026):

President Trump is taking more aspirin than his doctors recommend. He briefly tried wearing compression socks for his swelling ankles, but stopped because he didn’t like them. And he regrets undergoing advanced imaging because it generated scrutiny of his health.

“In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,” Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on his decision to get a cardiovascular and abdominal scan in October. “I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong.”

[snip]

In an impromptu phone interview that came after the Journal shared details about its reporting with the White House, the president expressed irritation about the public debate over his health. He has grown upset with his own White House staff for not promoting him as more vigorous. “Let’s talk about health again for the 25th time,” he said at the start of the interview. “My health is perfect,” he added. 

Wall Street Journal (gift link–01/01/2026).

“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?” 

[snip]

Barbabella, Trump’s physician, said the president uses aspirin for “cardiac prevention.” He said Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin a day [emphasis mine]. A low dose of aspirin is most commonly 81 milligrams, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“They’d rather have me take the smaller one,” Trump said. “I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.” 

Wall Street Journal (gift link–01/01/2026).

I’m not a doctor, but I have spent several years (since 2015) with having a team of cardiologists taking care of my daughter, now 25, and there is zero chance they’d have prescribed her 325 milligrams of aspirin. Ever. That much thinning of her blood could have deadly consequences.

Show more =’s He added: ‘I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds.'” (3/6).

Of the incident in which Bondi caused his hand to bleed, Trump said, “The ring hit the back of my hand, and, yes, there was a slight little cut,” Trump said. The cut alarmed some who witnessed the exchange, according to a person with knowledge of the episode. It is one of several instances in which his hand has been cut, aides said. 

Trump said he applies makeup to his hands after he gets “whacked again by someone.” He added: “I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds.”

Wall Street Journal (gift link–01/01/2026).

Trump said he didn’t fall asleep during recent events at the White House. “I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me,” he said in describing shutting his eyes. “Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”

Oz was at the Oval Office presentation in November and said he believed Trump became bored. Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, and others have urged cabinet members to shorten their presentations, according to administration officials. 

Wall Street Journal (gift link–01/01/2026).

Trump said he hasn’t made changes to his diet. In a podcast interview in October, Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters described being shocked by Trump’s eating habits when they traveled together during the campaign. While flying to a campaign event, according to Gruters, Trump consumed french fries, a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburger, a Big Mac and a Filet-O-Fish. 

Trump said he had plenty of energy, which he credited to his parents, who he said were energetic until their old age. 

Wall Street Journal (gift link–01/01/2026).

The standout for me beyond that large amount of aspirin a day is this:

The president has sometimes described his medical care inaccurately. He has for weeks said that he underwent an MRI at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in October. When asked about the procedure by the Journal, Trump and his doctor said he got a different form of imaging: a CT scan.

A CT scan is a faster and more common way to capture detailed images of the body. The MRI is a slower test that is superior for soft tissues.

“It wasn’t an MRI,” Trump told the Journal. “It was less than that. It was a scan.”

Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, Trump’s doctor, confirmed in a statement to the Journal that Trump had received a CT scan. Barbabella said Trump’s doctors initially told him they would perform either an MRI or a CT scan, and they ultimately decided to do the latter. Barbabella said the CT scan was done “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues” and revealed no abnormalities. The White House declined to make Barbabella available for an interview.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House had often referred to the procedure as “advanced imaging” and didn’t address why the president hadn’t corrected the record sooner. 

Wall Street Journal (gift link–01/01/2026).

*Flashback*

10/27/2025:

11/04/2025:

11/14/2025:

12/01/2025:

Show more =’s TRUMP: I have no idea. It was just an MRI. It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it, which you would be incapable of doing.

*End flashback*

But sure he was just inaccurate about what test he was given. 🙄


That’s a wrap.

Tomorrow, I hope to catch up on his Different Day Same Puddle meltdown over the last few days on “Lies Social”.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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About Tiff 3443 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.