Donald Trump has undergone multiple health checks since returning to the White House in 2025, with a former White House physician saying concern for the president’s physical health is “probably at an all-time high” as he approaches his 80th birthday
President Donald Trump insisted today (May 26) he is in “perfect health” following a trip to the Walter Reed Medical Centre. It’s the most recent in a string of medical appointments since he reclaimed the White House in 2025.
Trump, the eldest individual to assume the presidency is due to celebrate his 80th birthday within days, boldly announced this afternoon that his examination at the specialist Virginia establishment had gone “perfectly”.
He posted on his Truth Social platform: “Just finished my 6 month physical at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. Everything checked out PERFECTLY. Thank you to the great Doctors and Staff!“
The examination, despite being downplayed by Trump and the White House, represents one of four the ageing president has undergone during the past year, each accompanied by its own justification from the president amid public health speculation.
April 2025 – ‘abnormalities’
The initial Walter Reed appointment of Trump’s fresh tenure occurred on April 11, 2025, merely months after his January inauguration following an election during which he ruthlessly attacked the physical and mental wellbeing of his predecessor Joe Biden. Throughout the appointment, according to his physician, Sean Barbarella, he was examined by numerous specialists and required to complete an array of tests, reports the Mirror.
In a memo recording the entire procedure to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Barbarella stated the president “remains in excellent health” and heaped praise upon the Commander-in-Chief. The doctor penned: “President Trump remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function.
“His active lifestyle continues to contribute significantly to his well-being. President Trump’s days include participation in multiple meetings, public appearances, press availability, and frequent victories in golf events.
“President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.” Barbarella did highlight some “abnormalities” in his memorandum, including scarring to his right ear – following the attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024 – and “diverticulosis and a benign polyp”.
These findings were uncovered during a colonoscopy carried out the previous July.
July 2025 – hand bruising
Images captured in the months that followed appeared to reveal Trump experiencing three conditions: swollen ankles, bruising to both of his hands, and a visible rash on his neck. Growing public conjecture about the potential conditions from which the president might be suffering ultimately prompted a second visit from Barbarella.
The examination occurred outside of Walter Reed, with the doctor stating in a fresh memo that the president had observed “mild swelling in his lower legs”. The subsequent “comprehensive examination”, he said, uncovered a condition called chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when damaged veins struggle to send blood back to the heart.
Barbarella concluded that the condition was “benign and common”, attributing the bruises on Trump’s hand to “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin”. He further noted that the president takes this medication as part of a “standard cardiovascular prevention regimen”.
However, Barbarella’s explanation has been met with considerable scepticism. Jonathan Reiner, a doctor who served as cardiologist to former vice president Dick Cheney, stated it “doesn’t make sense”.
Speaking to the Washington Post, he said: “If you’re taking too much aspirin, one would likely take less aspirin. So that explanation doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. We’ve seen a similar bruise from time to time on his left hand, and I doubt he’s shaking hands with his left hand.” He accused the White House of “a lack of candor” following the memo.
October 2025 – 14 years younger
Trump made his next trip to Walter Reed in October 2025, which was described at the time both as a “scheduled follow-up evaluation” part of his “ongoing health maintenance plan” and a “planned meeting and remarks with the troops” in the same statement by Leavitt. According to Barbarella, the visit was another thorough one, during which the president underwent advanced imaging, laboratory testing and preventative health assessments “conducted by a multidisciplinary team of specialists”.
During his visit to the centre, he also “received preventive health screenings and immunisations, including annual influenza and updated COVID-19 booster vaccinations” in preparation for a planned trip overseas. Barbarella concluded in his memo that Trump “continues to demonstrate excellent overall health”.
He stated: “President Trump continues to demonstrate excellent overall health. His cardiac age – a validated measure of cardiovascular vitality via ECG – was found to be approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age.
“He continues to maintain a demanding daily schedule without restriction.” Trump himself revealed a few details about the visit, stating he underwent an MRI scan, and that he also took a cognitive test which he “aced”.
Discussing the scan, he said: “It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.” The visit at the time ignited intense debate about Trump’s health, following some peculiar, rambling public appearances, which the White House has consistently declined to comment on.
May 2026 – clean bill?
Today’s visit, the third to Walter Reed in Trump’s new term and the fourth overall publicised doctor’s check-up, was presented as yet another routine trip, this time an “annual dental and medical assessment”. The standard visit lasted approximately three-and-a-half hours, according to White House officials, with specifics of what took place during the appointment anticipated “in the next day or so”.
Trump, however, couldn’t help boasting about his clean bill of health in an online post as he returned to the White House. Further particulars could take considerable time to emerge, should the White House opt to stick to its usual timeline, as it wasn’t until December that Barbarella’s memo was made public.
No legislation exists requiring presidential medical information to be disclosed publicly, but enormous pressure ultimately compelled the Trump administration to act last year. The repeated visits have left the public more worried than previously, according to seasoned Doctor Jeffrey Kuhlman, a former White House physician who worked under presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton.
He told the LA Times: “I think concern for the president’s physical health is probably at an all-time high, and I think advanced physical age is the Number 1 concern.”
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