Washington (USA), 2 January (LaPresse/AP) – US President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Trump said he briefly tried wearing compression stockings to resolve the swelling, but stopped because he did not like them. According to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, the bruises on Trump's hand are due to ‘frequent handshakes and the use of aspirin,’ which the US president takes regularly to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. According to his doctor, Navy Captain Sean Barbabella, Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin a day. ‘They say aspirin is good for thinning the blood, and I don't want thick blood going through my heart,’ Trump said. ‘I want thin blood going through my heart. Does that make sense?’ The US leader also denied falling asleep during White House meetings when cameras caught him with his eyes closed. ‘I just close them. It relaxes me a lot,’ he explained, ‘sometimes they photograph me blinking.’ Trump then dismissed questions about his hearing, saying he only has difficulty hearing ‘when there are a lot of people talking’ and claimed to have a lot of energy, which he attributes to his genes. ‘Genetics are very important,’ he assured, ‘and I have very good genetics.’