WASHINGTON (AP/UNB)- President Donald Trump underwent his annual physical on Friday and declared himself fit, saying, “I did well,” while praising his heart, soul, and cognitive performance.
However, the official medical report from White House doctors is not expected until the weekend.
Trump, 78, who became the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency when sworn in this January, spent nearly five hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He described it as undergoing “every test you can imagine.”
“I was there for a long time,” Trump told reporters. “I think I did very well.”
Although he has frequently questioned former President Joe Biden’s health, Trump has often withheld detailed information about his own. He said he expects the doctor’s report by Sunday, but historically such disclosures have offered limited detail and glowing assessments.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a summary from the White House physician would be made public “as soon as we possibly can” and implied it would be thorough.
After the exam, Trump boarded Air Force One en route to Florida for the weekend. Midflight, he mentioned receiving “a little bit” of advice on lifestyle improvements from his doctors but didn’t share specifics.
“Overall, I felt I was in very good shape. A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul," Trump said. He added that he took a cognitive exam. “I don’t know what to tell you other than I got every answer right,” he said.
He argued that mental fitness testing is what Americans want and criticized Biden again, saying, “Biden refused to take it.”
This would be the first formal update on Trump’s health since the attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. At the time, instead of releasing records, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson — a loyal ally and former White House physician — issued a memo noting a gunshot wound to Trump’s right ear.
Trump had previously told CBS in August that he would “very gladly” release his medical records, but no documents were shared.
Although three years younger than Biden, Trump was five months older than Biden was during his first inauguration, making him the oldest person to be sworn in as president.
Like all Americans, presidents have a right to medical privacy and can choose what information to disclose. In recent decades, presidential physicals have offered the public some insight into their health, but Trump has typically offered only broad overviews.
Prior to Jackson’s July memo, the last update came in November 2023, when Dr. Bruce A. Aronwald released a letter on Trump’s social media. It stated Trump was in “excellent” health but lacked specific data like weight, blood pressure, or cholesterol levels. Aronwald said Trump had “reduced his weight” and scored exceptionally on cognitive tests.
Trump previously received treatment at Walter Reed for COVID-19 in 2020. Although his physician described an optimistic outlook, then-chief of staff Mark Meadows later said some of Trump’s vital signs were “very concerning.” Later reports indicated Trump was more seriously ill than initially acknowledged.
In another instance, a 2019 visit to Walter Reed for a physical wasn’t disclosed in advance, breaking with protocol. The White House later called it a “planned interim checkup” that had been kept private due to scheduling.
Trump’s cognitive ability became a talking point in 2020 when he recited “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV” during an interview to demonstrate his mental sharpness. When asked about the same test on Air Force One this Friday, he replied, “It’s a pretty well known test.”
“Whatever it is, I got every one — I got it all right,” he said.