Trump’s doctor finds US President in ‘excellent health’ after medical check-up

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump is in “excellent health,” a White House doctor’s assessment said April 13, after he underwent his first annual medical check-up since returning to the US presidency.

Republican Trump, 78, has repeatedly boasted about his own vigour since starting a second term, while mocking his 82-year-old Democratic predecessor Joe Biden as decrepit and mentally unfit for office.

“President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,” read a physician’s letter shared by the White House.

It noted a few abnormalities that included minor sun damage to Mr Trump’s skin, as well as scarring on his right ear from a gunshot wound suffered in an assassination attempt last July.

A colonoscopy revealed last year that Mr Trump had diverticulosis – small pouches in the colon – and a benign polyp, the report said, adding that a follow-up exam was recommended in three years.

It said Mr Trump is taking four medications: two for cholesterol control, aspirin for cardiac prevention, and a steroid skin cream.

The report overall was complimentary of Mr Trump’s health, praising his “active lifestyle” and citing his “frequent victories in golf events” – a common boast of the billionaire who also abstains from alcohol and cigarettes.

He is known, however, to indulge in fast food and famously enjoys well-done steaks – although he appears noticeably thinner than during his first term.

The latest report put his current weight at 102kg, down from 110kg in 2019.

Mr Trump had said April 11 that he felt “in very good shape” after his exam earlier that day at the Walter Reed military hospital in the Washington suburbs.

“I took a cognitive test. I don’t know what to tell you other than I got every answer right,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Outlandish health claims

Mr Trump has been accused of a lack of openness about his health despite huge interest in the well-being of America’s commander-in-chief.

The White House said previously that presidential physician Sean Barbabella would give a readout of the physical and that “of course” it would provide the full report.

But Mr Trump’s personal and White House doctors have at times made outlandish claims about his health.

In 2015, during Mr Trump’s first presidential run, his doctor Harold Bornstein released a letter saying the tycoon “unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”

Dr Bornstein later told CNN that Mr Trump himself “dictated that whole letter. I didn’t write that letter.”

The White House doctor in his first term, Ronny Jackson, said in 2018 that with a healthier diet Mr Trump could “live to be 200 years old.”

Dr Jackson’s report then suggested Mr Trump should aim to lose 5kg to 7kg but said he was generally in “excellent health,” adding that there were no signs of “any cognitive issues.”

A year later, an exam found the 190.5cm Trump weighed 110kg, up 3kg since shortly before taking office, making him technically obese.

Age became a major issue in the 2024 election, when Mr Trump and Mr Biden faced off as the oldest major party candidates in US history.

Mr Biden was forced to drop out of the race after a stumbling performance in a TV debate against Mr Trump in June that put concerns over his cognitive health to the top of the agenda. AFP