WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumphad anothermedical examon Tuesday, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny after he hasworked to dismiss concernsover his age and stamina.
The 79-year-old president spent more than three hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what the White House described aspreventive medical and dental checkups. It was Trump's fourth publicly disclosedmedical examsince he returned to office for a second term, and it comes as he tries to project strength ahead ofmidterm electionsthat will test his sway with voters.
In a social media post after the visit, Trump said that he had just finished his “6 month physical” and that “Everything checked out PERFECTLY.”
The White House did not immediately release a written report from Trump's doctors.
For decades, administrations have released selected results from presidential physicals, offering the publica glimpse at the commander-in-chief’s health. But the results are filtered through the White House and must be approved by the president, raising questions about what the public does and doesn't get to see.
Trump, a Republican, turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president. His immediate predecessor, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, was 82 when he left office, dropping out of the 2024 presidential race because ofwidespread concerns he was too old for the job.
AWashington Post/ABC News/Ipsos pollconducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president.
“I think concern for the president’s physical health is probably at an all-time high, and I think advanced physical age is the No. 1 concern,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as a White House physician for more than a decade under Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
For a president of Trump’s age, a complete physical would be expected to include advanced heart testing, screening for common cancers and acognitive assessment, along with basics like height, weight and blood pressure, Kuhlman said.
The White House has not disclosed what the visit entailed but expressed confidence in what it will show.
“President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement.
No law requiring presidents to disclose their medical records
In the weeks leading up to his visit, Trump has been saying he feels as good as he did five decades ago — even as he jokes about his fondness for fast food and hisminimal exercise regimen. Yet he’s also sensitive to perceptions about his age, noting that he takes extra caution descending the steps from Air Force One to avoid headlines about a stumble.
Advertisement
There isno lawrequiring presidents to publicize their health records, and the degree of transparency has varied by administration. Trump’spast reportshave been criticized for offering scant detail and for providing statistics that some medical experts have viewed with skepticism.
At public appearances, Trump is often seen wearing makeup to concealbruising on his hands, which the White House attributes to handshaking and regular aspirin use. He has sometimes appeared drowsy during meetings andclosed his eyes for long stretches, though he denies having fallen asleep.
Trump often boasts of having“aced” cognitive testswhile frequently deriding Biden, who facedquestions about his mental acuity. Biden and his aides pushed back aggressively against doubts raised about his fitness for office.
Some of Trump’s previous physicals have included theMontreal Cognitive Assessment, used to screen for dementia and cognitive impairment. Trump's physicians reported a score of 30 out of 30 for him at his 2018 and 2025 checkups.
Yet critics have pointed to Trump’smeandering speechesand sometimesbellicose rhetoricas evidence of cognitive decline.
Last month,a statementfrom more than 30 neurologists, psychiatrists and other medical experts — who acknowledged they’ve never examined him — said Trump was mentally unfit to serve and warned of an “increasingly dangerous decline” in his behavior based on what they called “objectively observable signs of serious medical concern.″
“Any so-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they’ve sworn to,” Ingle said.
Just like any other patient, presidents get to choose what’s disclosed about their health, said Sara Rosenthal, a bioethicist at the University of Kentucky who studies presidential health. Questions about transparency have become more acute as America elects aging presidents like Trump and Biden, she said.
“I think we can expect very little disclosure about the true health status of any president unless they’re in perfect health,” said Rosenthal, who has suggested an independent medical organization to review and report on the health of the president and those in the line of succession.
'Nothing should be hidden'
Trump's first medical report in his second term was released last April. In July, he was diagnosed withchronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins. Photographs have shown the president with swollen feet, ankles and calves, described by the White House as a symptom of chronic venous insufficiency leading to “mild swelling” in his lower legs.
Following his last publicly disclosed exam, described as aroutine follow-up last October, Trump’s physician issued aone-page summarysaying the president was in “exceptional health” without divulging many specific results.
The frequency of Trump's medical checkups is not uncommon for someone his age, according to S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois-Chicago, who has studied the health of past presidents. It's part of a strategy to catch problems while they’re still treatable, Olshansky said.
Olshansky says the public deserves to see more than White House medical summaries that “may be subject to editorial discretion.” Full, unredacted medical records should be made public, he said: “Nothing should be hidden.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumphad anothermedical examon Tuesday, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny after he has...
