President Trump, His Physician Deny He Had 'Mini-Strokes'

President Trump on Tuesday denied that the reason for his visit to Walter Reed Medical Center last fall was "a series of mini-strokes." 

"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," he tweeted.

Then, at Mr. Trump's request, Sean Conley, the president's physician, offered a fuller denial in a statement Tuesday.

"President Donald J Trump has asked that I, Dr. Sean Conley, physician to the President, address the recent public comments regarding his health," he said in the statement. "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."

No media outlet has reported that Mr. Trump has suffered a stroke, mini-stroke or heart-related health incident.

The White House said that the president was referring to a tweet by former Clinton administration White House press secretary Joe Lockhart, who tweeted on Monday, "Did @realDonaldTrump have a stroke which he is hiding from the American public?" Lockhart did not claim to have any evidence that this was the case, but said in another tweet on Tuesday, "We are starting to get to the bottom of the ridiculous explanation from the White House that @realDonaldTrump took an unannounced trip to the hospital to do half of his annual physical. It turns out the VP was put on standby to temporarily take over Presidential duties."

The president visited Walter Reed unexpectedly in November, a visit the White House has said was to get a head start on his annual physical. 

In a new book, New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt reported that Vice President Pence was on standby to assume the role of the presidency if needed during the president's visit to Walter Reed, though Schmidt said Tuesday he did not report anything about "mini-strokes" in his book. Schmidt's reporting has not been independently confirmed by CBS News. 

Fin Gomez contributed reporting. 

First published on September 1, 2020 / 3:22 PM

© 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.