\u201cI think concern for the president\u2019s physical health is probably at an all-time high, and I think advanced physical age is the No. 1 concern,\u201d said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as a White House physician for more than a decade under Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/limo-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tPresident Donald Trump sitting at the back of the presidential limousine as it drives outside the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center from the White House, May 26, 2026 in Bethesda, Md. (Manuel Balce Ceneta\/AP)<\/p>\n
For a president of Trump\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The White House has not disclosed what the visit will entail, but expressed confidence in what it will show.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident 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,\u201d White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement.<\/p>\n
No law requires presidents to disclose their medical records<\/p>\n
In the weeks leading up to his visit, Trump has been saying he feels as good as he did five decades ago \u2014 even as he jokes about his fondness for fast food and his\u00a0minimal exercise regimen. Yet he\u2019s also sensitive to perceptions about his age, noting that he takes extra caution descending the steps from Air Force One to avoid headlines about a stumble.<\/p>\n
There is no law requiring presidents to publicize their health records, and the degree of transparency has varied by administration. Trump\u2019s past reports have been criticized for offering scant detail and providing statistics that some medical experts have viewed skeptically.<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/handrail-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tPresident Donald Trump boarding Air Force One, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. (Mark Schiefelbein\/AP)<\/p>\n
At public appearances, Trump is often seen wearing makeup to conceal\u00a0bruising on his hands, which the White House attributes to handshaking and regular aspirin use. He has sometimes appeared drowsy during meetings and\u00a0closed his eyes for long stretches, though he denies having fallen asleep.<\/p>\n
Trump often boasts of having\u00a0\u201caced\u201d cognitive tests\u00a0while frequently deriding Biden, who faced\u00a0questions about his mental acuity. Biden and his aides pushed back aggressively against doubts raised about his fitness for office.<\/p>\n
Some of Trump\u2019s previous physicals have included the\u00a0Montreal 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.<\/p>\n
Yet critics have pointed to Trump\u2019s\u00a0meandering speeches\u00a0and sometimes\u00a0bellicose rhetoric\u00a0as evidence of cognitive decline.<\/p>\n
Last month, a statement from more than 30 neurologists, psychiatrists, and other medical experts \u2014 who acknowledged they\u2019ve never examined him \u2014 said Trump was mentally unfit to serve and warned of an \u201cincreasingly dangerous decline\u201d in his behavior based on what they called \u201cobjectively observable signs of serious medical concern.\u2033<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP25020571619974-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tThen-US President Joe Biden and then-US President-elect Donald Trump walk out to the presidential limousine, as they depart the White House, January 20, 2025, in Washington, en route to the Capitol. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n
\u201cAny so-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they\u2019ve sworn to,\u201d Ingle said.<\/p>\n
Just like any other patient, presidents get to choose what\u2019s disclosed about their health, said Sara Rosenthal, a bioethicist at the University of Kentucky who studies presidential health. Questions about transparency have become more acute as America elects aging presidents like Trump and Biden, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we can expect very little disclosure about the true health status of any president unless they\u2019re in perfect health,\u201d said Rosenthal, who has suggested an independent medical organization to review and report on the health of the president and those in the line of succession.<\/p>\n
\u2018Nothing should be hidden\u2019<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s 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 \u201cmild swelling\u201d in his lower legs.<\/p>\n
Following his last publicly disclosed exam, described as a\u00a0routine follow-up last October, Trump\u2019s physician issued a\u00a0one-page summary\u00a0saying the president was in \u201cexceptional health\u201d without divulging many specific results.<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hand-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tPresident Donald Trump\u2019s right hand is seen as he speaks to the press after returning and stepping off Air Force One, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after speaking at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy commencement. (Jacquelyn Martin\/AP)<\/p>\n
The frequency of Trump\u2019s medical checkups is not uncommon for someone his age, according to S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois-Chicago, who has studied the health of past presidents. It\u2019s part of a strategy to catch problems while they\u2019re still treatable, Olshansky said.<\/p>\n
Olshansky says the public deserves to see more than White House medical summaries that \u201cmay be subject to editorial discretion.\u201d Full, unredacted medical records should be made public, he said: \u201cNothing should be hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n
The White House has not said whether Trump\u2019s visit will include any procedures that may require anesthesia. Trump\u2019s last colon exam was in 2024 and recommended a follow-up in three years.<\/p>\n
If Trump were\u00a0given anesthesia, Vice President JD Vance would be expected to assume temporary control of the office under\u00a0the 25th Amendment. That last happened in 2021 when Vice President Kamala Harris was briefly sworn in while Biden had a colonoscopy. President George W. Bush twice turned over power to Vice President Dick Cheney.<\/p>\n
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