US Politics
Trump, 79, back at Walter Reed for second physical in a year as health comes under scrutiny
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President Donald Trump is returning to Walter Reed Medical Center for what the White House initially described as a “routine yearly checkup,” just six months after undergoing his annual physical exam.
“I think I’m in great shape, but I’ll let you know,” Trump, 79, said from the Oval Office Thursday. “When I’m around, I like to check. Always be early, it’s a lesson for a lot of people.”
Still, the trip to the facility in Bethesda, Maryland, is relatively unusual, departing from a president’s typical calendar of a single exam each year, following a new diagnosis and online rumors and allegations from his political rivals that the president is cognitively impaired.
The president’s latest health exam precedes a potential trip to the Middle East following a breakthrough agreement for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
His most recent exam in April marked the public’s first glimpse of the president’s health in his second term, after he became the oldest American to be sworn into office in January. White House physician Sean Barbabella said in a memo at the time that the president is in “excellent health.”
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Trump’s April 2025 physical exam
After his first physical exam since taking office in January, Trump’s doctor Sean Barbabella issued a three-page summary finding that the president is “fully fit” to serve.
Barbabella claimed the president lost 20 pounds since his June 2020 exam, attributed to Trump’s “active lifestyle” that “continues to contribute significantly” to his overall health.
“President exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,” Barbabella wrote in the April memo.
No abnormalities were reported other than sun damage and “scarring” on his right ear from a gunshot wound on his ear after an assassination attempt last year.
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The memo also listed that the president is taking a cholesterol drug and indicated that Trump is overweight.
The president reportedly scored a 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, according to the memo.
”Overall, I felt I was in very good shape,” Trump said after his appointment. “A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul.”
Chronic venous insufficiency and bruised hands
In July, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a fairly common condition among older adults that can cause swelling in the legs, after a medical checkup over “mild swelling” in Trump’s lower legs.
The president has also routinely sported a bruised hand, typically covered in unblended concealer makeup.
“This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen,” Barbabella has said. “This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy.”
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Last month, social media commenters were speculating dire predictions about the president’s health after a few days of relative public silence from the famously verbose president. That speculation exploded after the White House scheduled a vague announcement.
“NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE!” Trump later wrote on Truth Social.
Growing concerns about health and transparency
Trump has repeatedly come under scrutiny after an apparent lack of transparency about the state of his health and previous announcements from his physicians that appeared to exaggerate his wellbeing.
His former physician Dr. Harold Bornstein claimed that the president once dictated a statement, attributed to Bornstein, stating his health is “astonishingly excellent” during his first presidential campaign in 2015.
Trump also asked Walter Reed personnel to sign nondisclosure agreements in connection with a visit for a colonoscopy in 2019.
The president had returned to the White House within days after he was hospitalized for COVID-19 in 2020, when First Lady Melania Trump and more than a dozen other members of Trump’s circle tested positive.
A memo at the time said the president had been symptom-free for 24 hours following his return to the White House but did not indicate when he last tested negative, what his lung scans were showing or whether he was on other medications that may have masked symptoms.
Trump’s critics and prominent Democratic officials have also repeatedly accused the administration of concealing the president’s alleged cognitive decline and have called on his Cabinet and Vice President JD Vance to remove him from office.
