Donald Trump’s latest doctor visit turned out to be a fairly serious medical evaluation.
The president stopped by Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month, but the president’s team refused for days to explain why. Apparently it was for MRI scans, a medical tool typically used to assess tumors, joint injuries, or heart conditions. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Monday, Trump claimed the visit was little more than a “routine yearly checkup”—despite the fact that he had his annual physical just six months ago.
“I got an MRI,” he said before touching down in Japan. “It was perfect.”
The president did not elaborate on what the doctors were looking for or what they had found, though the 79-year-old did emphasize that the doctors allegedly told him he had “some of the best reports” they had ever seen.
“You can ask the doctors,” he said. “Nobody has ever given you reports like I give you.”
Trump then went on to brag about his IQ, claiming that “aptitude tests” he received at Walter Reed proved he was superior to his political opponents—especially compared to a couple of healthy young women.
“You give her an IQ test. Have her pass, like, the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed,” Trump said referring to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “I took—those are very hard—they’re really aptitude tests, I guess, in a certain way.”
Trump also derided Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett, suggesting that she, too, should grapple with the “very hard” tests, which he said included questions about “tigers, an elephant, a giraffe.” It’s unclear what test this could be referring to, but it sounds remarkably similar to Trump’s infamous “person, woman, man, camera, TV” test—which health experts have revealed is a test to check for signs of dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other cognitive issues.
The White House said that the president was in “excellent overall health” after his October 10 visit, referring to the testing as “advanced imaging.” Press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to clarify that language during a White House press briefing last week, rejecting a reporter’s query as to whether that meant Trump had received MRI scans.
“Advanced imaging is something that presidents receive and people receive when they go to the doctor, and so we provided a detailed readout of that physical, and I would encourage you back for that,” she said.
When pressed again on the matter, Leavitt said: “I don’t know the exact imaging that took place, but as the physician’s note said, the president is in incredibly good shape and I think that’s evidenced here every single day.”
Trump’s health has been a topic of concern since he was on the campaign trail, when reports circulated that he couldn’t remember the contents of the cognitive exams he claimed to ace. Since then, the president has been spotted with odd discolorations on his hand, routinely appears discombobulated and lethargic during critical meetings with world leaders, and had a drooping expression during 9/11 ceremonies in September that onlookers suggested could be a sign of a stroke.
The post Trump Finally Reveals What Tests He Had Done—and They’re a Doozy appeared first on New Republic.
