President Donald Trump remains fit to serve as commander in chief, according to a medical report released by the White House late Friday night.
Sean P. Barbabella, the physician to the president, wrote in his assessment 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 well-being. 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.
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 use of aspirin were behind the bruising, though some outside physicians have suggested that is unlikely, noting that the bruises have appeared on Trump’s nondominant left hand.
The report also said Trump had some “slight lower leg swelling” that had improved since last year, but 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 electrocardiogram.
Independent physicians have characterized the White House’s assessment of Trump’s “cardiac age” as an unusual addition to the medical report.
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 checkup, 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.
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