President Trump said that he underwent magnetic resonance imaging earlier this month, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday that the results had been “perfect” but declining to say why his doctors had ordered the scan.
Mr. Trump also reiterated that he was interested in serving a third term, saying that he “would love to do it” because of his popularity with his supporters. Mr. Trump, who spoke to journalists for about 30 minutes on a flight to Tokyo from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during his almost weeklong trip to Asia, seemed intent on presenting himself as fit to lead, if not run for the presidency again.
The Constitution sets a two-term limit for presidents, but Mr. Trump and his supporters have increasingly floated the possibility of finding a way to circumvent the 22nd Amendment, which states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice,” regardless of whether the terms are consecutive.
In discussing his health, Mr. Trump offered a small new detail about the tests that the White House physician, Dr. Sean P. Barbabella, said the president had received during a recent visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
“I gave you the full results,” Mr. Trump said, mischaracterizing the summary that was released by his physician. The summary did not say that Mr. Trump had an M.R.I. scan and had few details on what testing the president had undergone. When asked why he had undergone an M.R.I., the president said, “you could ask the doctors.” Magnetic resonance imaging, a noninvasive technology that creates detailed images of the inside of the body, is often used for disease detection and monitoring, or to detect bone or joint abnormalities.
At 79, Mr. Trump is the oldest person to be elected president, and he would be well into his 80s by the end of his second term. Mr. Trump’s critics have speculated about his health in recent months after he repeatedly appeared on camera with bruises on the back of his hand and swollen ankles.
Karoline Leavitt, Mr. Trump’s press secretary, said at the time that his visit to Walter Reed earlier this month was part of a routine annual checkup, though he had already undergone a physical in April. Shortly after his latest visit, he traveled to the Middle East.
As he fielded questions on Monday, Mr. Trump seemed intent on presenting himself as the picture of physical and mental health, claiming, without evidence, that two Democratic lawmakers, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Jasmine Crockett of Texas, would not “pass” the cognitive health exams he has taken at Walter Reed. He did not say whether he took those exams during his last visit.
“Let A.O.C. go against Trump,” Mr. Trump said, talking about himself as a candidate in a hypothetical future presidential race. “Let Jasmine go against Trump. The first couple of questions are easy: a tiger, an elephant, a giraffe. When you get up to about five or six, then you get up to 10 and 20 and 25, they couldn’t come close to answering any of those questions.”
Mr. Trump didn’t specify which test he was talking about.
Last week, Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s former strategist, said that he was part of “a plan” to help the president get elected to a third term.
“Trump is going to be president in ’28, and people ought to just get accommodated with that,” he said.
Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent for The Times, reporting on President Trump.
The post Trump Says a Recent M.R.I. Scan Was ‘Perfect,’ and He’d ‘Love’ a Third Term appeared first on New York Times.
