Donald Trump, the oldest president in U.S. history, underwent his annual medical examination Friday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, with the White House promising to release details about the 78-year-old leader’s health “as soon as we possibly can.” The evaluation marks the first comprehensive public update on Trump’s condition since he survived an assassination attempt last July.
Trump sought to project vigor ahead of the check-up, posting on his social media platform: “I have never felt better, but nevertheless, these things must be done!” The president spent over five hours at the Maryland facility before departing for Florida. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Trump avoided anesthesia during the exam and asserted he remains “in very good shape,” though the administration has historically provided minimal substantive health information.
The examination revives questions about presidential transparency, as Trump who frequently questioned predecessor Joe Biden’s fitness has maintained unusual secrecy about his own medical status. His last detailed health disclosure came in November 2023, when physician Bruce Aronwald issued a vague letter declaring Trump’s physical and cognitive health “exceptional” without providing standard metrics like weight or blood pressure. Following the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting, supporters released only a brief memo describing Trump’s ear wound rather than full medical records.
The Walter Reed visit carries particular significance as Trump, though three years younger than Biden, became the oldest U.S. president at inauguration when he began his second term in January 2025. Modern presidents have typically used annual physicals to reassure the public, though administrations have sometimes concealed serious conditions—most notably Woodrow Wilson’s 1919 stroke.
Trump’s approach to health disclosures has often broken with norms. During his 2020 campaign, he famously cited recalling words like “person, woman, man, camera, TV” as proof of cognitive sharpness after taking a mental acuity test. As Americans await the latest assessment, the episode underscores ongoing tensions between presidential privacy and public accountability for an aging commander-in-chief.
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