Trump says physical exam went well, report will be released on April 13
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Mr Donald Trump, who turns 79 in June, is the oldest person to assume the US presidency.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump, who in January became the oldest person to assume the US presidency, underwent his first physical exam of his second term on April 11 and said it went well, with results set to be released on April 13.
Mr Trump, who turns 79 in June and likes fast food so much he staged a photo op at a McDonald’s during his campaign in 2024, spent several hours being poked and prodded by the doctors at Walter Reed Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland.
“It went, I think, well... every test you can imagine, I was there for a long time, the yearly physical,” Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I think I did well. I think they’re releasing the report on Sunday,” he added.
Mr Trump also said he took a cognitive exam and got all the answers right.
“Overall I felt I was in very good shape. A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul and I took – I wanted to be a little different than Biden. I took a cognitive test and I don’t know what to tell you other than I got every answer right,” Mr Trump said.
The physical could offer the first clear look at Mr Trump’s condition since his ear was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.
His campaign released a report by Mr Ronny Jackson, Mr Trump’s former White House doctor and a Republican Congressman from Texas, saying the injuries were superficial.
The White House typically determines what data will be released from a president’s health exam. Mr Trump is not compelled to release any information, and there is no template for the presidential exam. Mr Trump released only limited information about his health during his presidential campaigns.
During the 2024 election, Mr Trump drew sharp contrasts with his predecessor, Mr Joe Biden, now 82, claiming he was younger and fitter.
A White House doctor in 2018, when Mr Trump was serving his first term, said the President was in overall excellent health but needed to shed weight and start a daily exercise routine.
Mr Trump included a cognitive exam, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, as part of his physical during his first term, and his doctor later said he scored 30 out of 30.
Mr Biden released detailed summaries of his physical exams while in office, but several books published in recent months have raised questions about his mental acuity in his final months in the White House.
The mental ability and age of both Mr Biden and Mr Trump were in focus during the 2024 election campaign, especially after Mr Biden’s disastrous performance in a debate with Mr Trump in June, and Mr Trump’s increasingly rambling speeches at rallies. REUTERS
