Donald Trump, the oldest man to be inaugurated US president, will visit Walter Reed national military medical center on Friday for what the White House said was a “routine yearly check up”.
“On Friday morning, President Trump will visit Walter Reed Medical Center for a planned meeting and remarks with the troops,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Wednesday. “While there, President Trump will stop by for his routine yearly check up. He will then return to the White House.”
This is the second time since returning to the White House in January that the president has gone to Walter Reed for an exam. Last time, it included cognitive and cardiology tests. It is not clear what exactly this checkup will entail.
According to a memo from the president’s physician, Dr Sean Barbabella, Trump underwent his “annual physical examination” at Walter Reed on 11 April. The health report, released by the White House, declared Trump “fully fit to execute the duties” of the presidency. It suggested the president’s “frequent victories in golf events” contributed to his “excellent” physical and mental wellbeing.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Leavitt said Trump was “considering going to the Middle East shortly” after his consultation on Friday. The president had said earlier on Wednesday that he was contemplating a trip to Egypt this weekend as he sought to finalize a deal to end the two-year war in Gaza.
Since his April exam, Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition that can cause swelling, as the president has experienced in his legs and is common in older adults. Trump’s physician also addressed concern about bruising on the president’s hand, attributing it to irritation caused by frequent handshaking and his use of aspirin as a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.
Recent images of a purplish bruise on Trump’s hand, which appeared to have been covered with a patch of makeup, fueled online speculation that the president was ill.
Trump has long been cagey about his health, and concern about the president’s wellbeing stretches back to his first term. But wild rumors reached a fever pitch when the president faded from public view for several days over the summer, with critics and TikTok influencers speculating that the president was on his deathbed. “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE!” Trump wrote at the time, in an assertion that only fueled suspicions of a coverup.
Questions about the 79-year-old president’s mental acuity have flared in recent weeks following a series of bizarre, rambling appearances and erratic online behavior.
