Donald Trump considered wearing a Superman t-shirt under his suit so he could dramatically reveal it upon leaving hospital last week.
According to a report in The New York Times, the president was worried he would look frail after his treatment for Covid-19 and believed the stunt would be a symbol of strength.
He ultimately decided against the stunt, thus depriving the world of what would have been a... memorable moment in a year of memorable moments.
The revelation comes as a giant of the graphic novel world, ‘Watchmen’ creator Alan Moore, argued that superhero movies may very well have contributed to the rise of Trump and Brexit.
“This may be entirely coincidence, but in 2016 when the American people elected a National Socialist satsuma and the UK voted to leave the European Union, six of the top 12 highest-grossing films were superhero movies,” he said.
“Not to say that one causes the other, but I think they’re both symptoms of the same thing — a denial of reality and an urge for simplistic and sensational solutions.”
Meanwhile, Trump is no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus, his doctor has said.
Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley said the president meets the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognised standards” he is no longer considered a transmission risk.
The memo followed Trump’s first public appearance since returning to the White House after being treated for the coronavirus, but it did not spell out at he had tested negative for the virus, PA Media reports.
Some medical experts had been sceptical that Trump could be declared free of the risk of transmitting the virus so early in the course of his illness.
Just 10 days since an initial diagnosis of infection, there was no way to know for certain that someone was no longer contagious, they said.
Dr Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist and department chairman at the Yale School of Public Health, said the White House appeared to be following CDC guidelines for when it is appropriate to end isolation after mild to moderate cases of Covid-19.
But Dr Ko cautioned that those who have had severe cases of the diseases should isolate for 20 days, noting Trump was treated with the steroid dexamethasone, which is normally reserved for patients with severe Covid.
He added White House had issued “convoluted” statements about Trump’s health that left many questions unanswered, including whether the president ever had pneumonia.