Former President Donald Trump disputed claims that he suffered from depression after losing the 2020 election and argued that a visit by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to him at Mar-a-Lago had nothing to do with him not eating.
Responding to the claims levied by outspoken Trump critic and former GOP congresswoman Liz Cheney in her forthcoming book, “Oath and Honor,” Trump reiterated his baseless claim that the election was “rigged” before stating McCarthy did not visit him because he was depressed and not eating as Cheney claims.
“I was not depressed, I WAS ANGRY, and it was not that I was not eating, it was that I was eating too much,” Trump said in an early Monday morning post. “But that’s not why Keven McCarthy [sic] was there. He was at Mar-a-Lago to get my support, and to bring the Republican Party together – Only good intentions.”
Trump then took a jab at Cheney, who lost her primary election in 2022 to her Trump-backed opponent, Harriet Hageman by more than 37%.
“She then worked with others on the J6 Committee to delete and destroy the evidence and findings of the committee,” Trump added.
Cheney has not minced her words about the possibility of Trump holding office again.
She recently called the 2024 election “an existential crisis” and warned that the U.S. would be “sleepwalking into dictatorship” if Trump is elected again.
In response to reports about Cheney’s book last week, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called the stories “completely fabricated” because “President Trump is the clear front-runner to be the Republican nominee and the strongest candidate to beat Crooked Joe Biden.”
The initial revelation drew skepticism from the get-go, with CNN anchor Jake Tapper calling it “surprising” because “he’s a man of healthy appetites,” adding that he didn’t mean that disparagingly.
Similarly, Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko wrote: “I’ve heard a lot of lies in politics. Trump not eating is the most unbelievable of them all.”
Trump has previously come under criticism for his weight and eating habits, including from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who categorized him as “morbidly obese” in 2020.
Trump recently posted a letter from his physician on Truth Social that stated he is in “excellent” health and that he had “reduced his weight through an improved diet and continued daily physical activity.”
