New Question Surround Trump's Hospital Visit Last Year.
CHURCH: Just a few days before Thanksgiving last year the U.S. President was suddenly rushed to Walter Reed hospital. A new book claims to have new details of that day. Here's CNN Brian Todd reporting from Washington.</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump's unannounced visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center last November, raising new and troubling questions about transparency from the White House. In a forthcoming book obtained by CNN, "New York Times" reporter Michael Schmidt, not revealing his sources, says Vice President Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required anesthesia.</s>DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It makes you wonder, what was that, and is it going to lead to anything more down the road? He was only in the hospital for just over an hour, so you know, we know that it's unlikely he was anaesthetized. It's unlikely he had a procedure done, but something that day got people really worried.</s>TODD: Pence did not end up assuming the powers of the presidency that day. At the time of Trump's Walter Reed visit, the White House called it routine. A former White House physician who served under Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton says there could be a straightforward explanation.</s>DR. WILLIAM LANG, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: The president travels. The job of the military -- military unit and the medical unit is to make sure that all contingencies are covered, so we don't know what the details of this reported, have the vice president on standby, this may have just been the routine, OK, the president is going to the hospital. Let's make sure we've got all of our standard -- standard operating procedures in place.</s>TODD: Responding to questions about his health, Trump tweeted, it never ends. And denied a suggestion from a fringe author that he'd suffered a series of mini strokes. Trump's White House physician, Dr. Sean Conley, also denied that, and in a statement today, said, the president remains healthy and I have no concerns about his ability to maintain the rigorous schedule ahead of him. But CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta says there remain too many unanswered questions over unusual occurrences surrounding that Walter Reed visit.</s>GUPTA: They say this was a routine visit, but nothing about this visit was routine. On a Saturday, unannounced, doctors in the car with him. They say it had nothing to do with the brain or the heart, but frankly, most routine things can otherwise be taken care of at the White House. So, this doesn't make sense.</s>TODD: There have been other attention-grabbing moments. On two separate occasions, President Trump had to steady one hand with the other while drinking water during speeches. He seemingly walked hesitantly down a ramp at West Point this summer, steadying his feet at every step. He made an unfounded claim at the time that the ramp was slippery, and he didn't want to fall in front of the, quote, fake news.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was a steel ramp. It had no handrail. It was like an ice skating rink.</s>TODD: Through all of it, the president and his doctors have repeatedly contended he's healthy, but one medical ethicist is concerned about the secrecy.</s>ARTHUR CAPLAN, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF MEDICAL ETHICS, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER: Our biggest worry is we have an election between Trump and Biden, and Trump somehow, in the middle of this, becomes somewhat incapacitated, but covers it up. Doesn't let us know that the person we're going to vote for may become increasingly disabled during a second term.</s>TODD (on camera): Vice President Pence now says he doesn't recall being put on standby the day that President Trump went to Walter Reed. In an interview with FOX News, the vice president said he's always kept informed of the president's movements, and he's always ready. But he doesn't remember anything out of the ordinary about that day. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.</s>CHURCH: And President Trump is still vehemently denying all aspects of the story. Just hours ago, he tweeted this, Mike Pence was never put on standby and there were no mini strokes. This is just more fake news. And thanks so much for you company. I'm Rosemary Church. Be sure to connect with me on twitter, @RosemaryCNN. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN. Have yourselves a great day.