Washington (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to receive a medical exam on Tuesday, putting his health once again under intense public scrutiny after he has worked to dispel concerns about his age and stamina.
The 79‑year‑old head of state will visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what the White House described as an annual preventative medical and dental checkup. It will be Trump’s fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to office for a second term, and comes as he tries to project strength ahead of the mid‑term elections that will test his sway with voters.
For decades, administrations have released selected results from presidential physicals, offering the public a glimpse at the commander‑in‑chief’s health. But the results are filtered through the White House and must be approved by the president, raising questions about what the public does and doesn’t get to see.
Trump turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president. His predecessor, former President Joe Biden, was 82 when he left office, dropping out of the 2024 presidential race because of wide‑spread concerns he was too old for the job.
A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president. “I think concern for the president’s physical health is probably at an all‑time high, and I think advanced physical age is the No. 1 concern,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as a White House physician for more than a decade under former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
For a president of Trump’s age, a complete physical would be expected to include advanced heart testing, screening for common cancers and a cognitive assessment, along with basics like height, weight and blood pressure, Kuhlman said.
The White House has not disclosed what the visit will entail, but expressed confidence in what it will show. “President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement.
No law requires presidents to publicize their health records. The degree of transparency has varied by administration. Trump’s past reports have been criticized for offering scant detail and reporting statistics that some medical experts eyed with skepticism.
At public appearances, Trump is often seen wearing makeup to conceal bruising on his hands, which the White House attributes to handshaking and regular aspirin use. He has sometimes appeared drowsy during meetings and closed his eyes for long stretches, though he denies having fallen asleep.
Trump often boasts of having “aced” cognitive tests while frequently deriding Biden, who faced questions about his mental acuity. Some of Trump’s previous physicals have included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, used to screen for dementia and cognitive impairment. His physicians reported a score of 30 out of 30 for Trump at 2018 and 2025 checkups.
Yet critics have pointed to Trump’s meandering speeches and sometimes bellicose rhetoric as evidence of cognitive decline. Last month, a statement from more than 30 neurologists, psychiatrists and other medical experts warned that Trump was mentally unfit to serve and warned of an “increasingly dangerous decline” in his behavior.
Just like any other patient, presidents get to choose what’s disclosed about their health, said Sara Rosenthal, a bioethicist at the University of Kentucky who studies presidential health. “We can expect very little disclosure about the true health status of any president unless they’re in perfect health,” she said. Rosenthal has suggested an independent medical organization should review and report on the health of the president and those in the line of succession.
Trump’s first medical report in his second term was released last April. In July, he was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins. Photographs have shown the president with swollen feet, ankles and calves, described by the White House as a symptom of chronic venous insufficiency leading to “mild swelling” in his lower legs.
Following his last publicly disclosed exam, described as a routine follow‑up last October, Trump’s physician issued a one‑page summary saying the president was in “exceptional health” without divulging many specific results.
The frequency of Trump’s medical checkups is not uncommon for someone his age. It’s part of a strategy to catch problems while they’re still treatable, said S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois‑Chicago, who has studied the health of past presidents. Olshansky says the public deserves to see more than White House medical summaries that “may be subject to editorial discretion.” Full, unredacted medical records should be made public, he said. “Nothing should be hidden.”
The White House has not said whether Trump’s visit will include any procedures that may require anesthesia. Trump’s last colon exam was in 2024 and recommended a follow‑up in three years.
If Trump were given anesthesia, Vice President J.D. Vance would be expected to assume temporary control of the office under the 25th Amendment. That last happened in 2021 when Vice President Kamala Harris was briefly sworn in while Biden had a colonoscopy. Former President George W. Bush twice turned over power to Vice President Dick Cheney.}
The 79‑year‑old head of state will visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what the White House described as an annual preventative medical and dental checkup. It will be Trump’s fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to office for a second term, and comes as he tries to project strength ahead of the mid‑term elections that will test his sway with voters.
For decades, administrations have released selected results from presidential physicals, offering the public a glimpse at the commander‑in‑chief’s health. But the results are filtered through the White House and must be approved by the president, raising questions about what the public does and doesn’t get to see.
Trump turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president. His predecessor, former President Joe Biden, was 82 when he left office, dropping out of the 2024 presidential race because of wide‑spread concerns he was too old for the job.
A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president. “I think concern for the president’s physical health is probably at an all‑time high, and I think advanced physical age is the No. 1 concern,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as a White House physician for more than a decade under former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
For a president of Trump’s age, a complete physical would be expected to include advanced heart testing, screening for common cancers and a cognitive assessment, along with basics like height, weight and blood pressure, Kuhlman said.
The White House has not disclosed what the visit will entail, but expressed confidence in what it will show. “President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement.
No law requires presidents to publicize their health records. The degree of transparency has varied by administration. Trump’s past reports have been criticized for offering scant detail and reporting statistics that some medical experts eyed with skepticism.
At public appearances, Trump is often seen wearing makeup to conceal bruising on his hands, which the White House attributes to handshaking and regular aspirin use. He has sometimes appeared drowsy during meetings and closed his eyes for long stretches, though he denies having fallen asleep.
Trump often boasts of having “aced” cognitive tests while frequently deriding Biden, who faced questions about his mental acuity. Some of Trump’s previous physicals have included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, used to screen for dementia and cognitive impairment. His physicians reported a score of 30 out of 30 for Trump at 2018 and 2025 checkups.
Yet critics have pointed to Trump’s meandering speeches and sometimes bellicose rhetoric as evidence of cognitive decline. Last month, a statement from more than 30 neurologists, psychiatrists and other medical experts warned that Trump was mentally unfit to serve and warned of an “increasingly dangerous decline” in his behavior.
Just like any other patient, presidents get to choose what’s disclosed about their health, said Sara Rosenthal, a bioethicist at the University of Kentucky who studies presidential health. “We can expect very little disclosure about the true health status of any president unless they’re in perfect health,” she said. Rosenthal has suggested an independent medical organization should review and report on the health of the president and those in the line of succession.
Trump’s first medical report in his second term was released last April. In July, he was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins. Photographs have shown the president with swollen feet, ankles and calves, described by the White House as a symptom of chronic venous insufficiency leading to “mild swelling” in his lower legs.
Following his last publicly disclosed exam, described as a routine follow‑up last October, Trump’s physician issued a one‑page summary saying the president was in “exceptional health” without divulging many specific results.
The frequency of Trump’s medical checkups is not uncommon for someone his age. It’s part of a strategy to catch problems while they’re still treatable, said S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois‑Chicago, who has studied the health of past presidents. Olshansky says the public deserves to see more than White House medical summaries that “may be subject to editorial discretion.” Full, unredacted medical records should be made public, he said. “Nothing should be hidden.”
The White House has not said whether Trump’s visit will include any procedures that may require anesthesia. Trump’s last colon exam was in 2024 and recommended a follow‑up in three years.
If Trump were given anesthesia, Vice President J.D. Vance would be expected to assume temporary control of the office under the 25th Amendment. That last happened in 2021 when Vice President Kamala Harris was briefly sworn in while Biden had a colonoscopy. Former President George W. Bush twice turned over power to Vice President Dick Cheney.}
