Donald Trump will undergo his annual physical examination Tuesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, marking his first formal health checkup since taking office for his second term this year.
The president, who turns 80 next month, has faced mounting public scrutiny over his health throughout the past year. Recent photographs showing a neck rash have reignited questions about his wellbeing, following earlier images from July that captured swollen ankles and a bruised hand.
Trump consistently portrays himself as the healthier alternative to his predecessor, Joe Biden, who left the White House last year at age 82 after enduring persistent questions about his fitness for duty. The sitting president became the oldest person ever to assume the presidency when he began his second term in January.
The president maintains an active golf schedule, though he made light of his exercise regimen during an Oval Office event. When Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. noted that Trump walks nine miles every time he golfs, the president quipped back: "When I am not using the cart."
White House Physician Sean Barbabella confirmed that Trump is using a topical cream to address the neck rash as a preventative skin treatment, but offered no specific details about the underlying condition.
After photographs emerged last July showing visible swelling in his legs and a bruised hand, Barbabella issued a letter stating the conditions were benign with no signs of blood clots or arterial disease. White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt attributed the leg swelling to a common vein condition and the hand injury to repeated handshakes.
Trump disclosed last October that he had undergone a magnetic resonance imaging scan that month, though the White House was initially reticent about disclosing the reason. Leavitt later stated the MRI showed "exceptional physical health," and Trump subsequently told reporters he had obtained the scan as part of a second physical exam.
Medical experts noted that MRI scans are not standard components of routine physicals and are typically ordered when physicians need detailed images of specific areas of the body.
In a memo following that examination, Barbabella reported that the president's cardiac age, measured through electrocardiogram, was approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age.
Trump has also drawn attention for appearing to doze off during several high-level meetings, including a Cabinet session. When questioned about the incident in February, he dismissed the characterization. "Some people said, he closed his eyes. Look, it got pretty boring," Trump told officials in the room. "I didn't sleep. I just closed them because I wanted to get the hell outta here."
Author James Rodriguez: "The timing of this physical matters, but the real test is transparency. Americans deserve straight answers about a president's health, not defensive explanations after the fact."
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