US President Donald Trump said he felt “in very good shape” after his first medical checkup since returning to the White House.
Trump, 78, arrived on April 11 at the Walter Reed Medical Center in suburban Washington for a physical exam that put the focus on cardio and cognitive tests. He later told reporters on Air Force One that he “got every answer right” on the cognitive test and said he had not only a “good heart” but also a “very good soul.”
“It went, I think, well,” Trump said of the exam, adding that he underwent “every test you can imagine” and that a report is expected to be issued on April 13.
American presidents traditionally provide details about their health and wellbeing though they are not compelled to do so.
Trump has repeatedly been accused of a lack of openness about his health, but the White House said that presidential physician Sean Barbabella would give a readout of the exam and that “of course” it would be made public.
“I can confirm the president is in very good shape, as you see on a near daily basis,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.
Trump, a prolific golfer who abstains from alcohol and cigarettes, has repeatedly boasted about his vigor since starting a second term, but he is known to indulge in fast food. He likes it so much he staged a photo op at a McDonald’s during his campaign last year.
The White House doctor in his first term, Ronny Jackson, said in 2018 that with a healthier diet Trump could “live to be 200 years old.” The exams conducted during his first term revealed that Trump was taking medication to treat high cholesterol.
Jackson’s report suggested Trump should aim to lose 10 to 15 pounds but said he was generally in “excellent health” with no signs of “any cognitive issues.”
A year later, an exam found the 1.9-meter tall president weighed 110 kilograms. Trump appears to have lost some weight since then.
Age and cognitive health became a major issue in the 2024 election when Trump and then-President Joe Biden faced off as the oldest major party candidates in history.
Biden, now 82, was forced to drop out of the race after verbally stumbling through a TV debate against Trump in June that put concerns over his health to the top of the agenda.
Since returning to office Trump has repeatedly compared his own vigor to Biden’s, while the White House has accused the previous administration of covering up what it says was Biden’s decline.
(RFE)
