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Trump’s doctor says he is in ‘excellent health’ after latest checkup

Author
Washington Post,
Publish Date
Sun, 31 May 2026, 8:51am
US President Donald Trump returns to the White House after a Memorial Day event. Photo / Aaron Schwartz / Pool / For The Washington Post
US President Donald Trump returns to the White House after a Memorial Day event. Photo / Aaron Schwartz / Pool / For The Washington Post

Trump’s doctor says he is in ‘excellent health’ after latest checkup

Author
Washington Post,
Publish Date
Sun, 31 May 2026, 8:51am

US President Donald Trump remains fit to serve as commander in chief, according to a medical report released by the White House.

Sean P. Barbabella, the physician to the President, wrote that Trump “remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall physical function”.

The report was released three days after the President’s latest checkup.

Barbabella also cited Trump’s “demanding daily schedule” as evidence of his wellbeing. He said the President had again achieved a perfect score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment – a screening tool primarily used to detect signs of dementia or cognitive decline – which Trump has undergone several times since his first term.

Trump visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday morning for what the White House said was a medical and dental checkup. It was the President’s third trip to the facility in the past 13 months, following an April 2025 visit that was announced as his annual physical, and an October 2025 checkup that was described as a scheduled follow-up visit.

The White House said the report incorporated diagnostic studies and tests conducted over the past year, as well as consultations with 22 specialists.

Trump, who turns 80 next month, has faced persistent questions about his health in recent months, including recurrent bruising on his hands and swelling in his legs.

Barbabella’s report once again suggested that Trump’s frequent handshaking and regular use of aspirin were behind the bruising, though some outside physicians have suggested that is unlikely, noting that the bruises have appeared on the President’s nondominant left hand.

The report also said Trump had some “slight lower leg swelling” that had improved since last year, but it offered no additional details.

Like past medical assessments released by the Trump White House, the report included several unusual flourishes. Barbabella, for example, contended that Trump’s “cardiac age” was 14 years younger than his 79 years, according to the results of an “AI-enhanced electrocardiogram analysis”.

Independent physicians have characterised the White House’s assessment of Trump’s “cardiac age” as an unusual addition to the medical report.

Barbabella’s report also provided updates on other measures of Trump’s health. The 6-foot-3 President weighs 238 pounds, having gained 14 pounds since his physical last year – meaning he is technically “overweight” and is about 1.6 pounds shy of being classified as “obese,” according to body mass index calculations. Trump was encouraged to increase his physical activity and pursue continued weight loss, according to the report.

Barbabella also said that the President remains on a pair of medications, rosuvastatin and ezetimibe, for cholesterol control. No other medications were listed.

Trump, who was at Walter Reed for about three-and-a-half hours on Tuesday morning, framed the visit as a success.

“Just finished my 6 month physical at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. Everything checked out PERFECTLY,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform as his motorcade left the facility.

Several physicians who treat older adults said they were confused by Trump’s description of the visit as a “six-month physical,” noting that the accepted custom – and the presidential tradition – is for an annual evaluation. Although some adults may undergo a full physical exam every few months, it is usually to manage an ongoing condition. Physicians may also perform some physical exams as part of a check-up, such as listening to a patient’s heart.

“Physicals, a.k.a. ‘annuals,’ tend to be yearly, by convention and by insurance coverage rules,” said Ishani Ganguli, a primary care physician and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “We often see patients for a six-month follow-up in between, but wouldn’t call it or bill it as a physical.”

Presidents are not required to undergo medical exams or reveal health information to the public, and the amount of information shared in the past has varied. But past presidents, including Trump, have generally made medical visits to Walter Reed only once a year, unless there is an urgent medical issue, such as when Trump contracted a serious case of Covid-19 in late 2020.

Before releasing the report, White House officials mocked speculation around Trump’s health, including questions about the President’s drowsiness. Trump officials on Tuesday shared screenshots of TV segments discussing the President’s Walter Reed visit, sarcastically alleging that reporters had fallen asleep when they blinked or looked away from the camera.

The delayed release of Trump’s medical findings also drew scrutiny, but there is a long history of the White House not immediately releasing the results from a President’s check-up. The White House in February 2019 released Trump’s medical findings six days after his visit to Walter Reed that month.

- The Washington Post

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