US President Donald Trump celebrates his 80th birthday in June, and will do so amid questions about whether his physical health and mental acuity are declining.
This week, Trump had his third test since returning to the Oval Office 16 months ago and said on social media that “everything is FULLY tested.”
In response to media inquiries about the appointment, a White House spokesman said Trump is in good health again is”The sharpest and most accessible president in American history.”
A memo from his doctor released by the White House on Friday also said Trump remains in excellent health following his test, despite continuing to have “minor swelling in his lower leg” and “injury” to his hand.
These superlatives have been a regular feature during his presidency, but have fueled speculation about the true nature of his fitness.
Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, former White House physician to presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, says Trump’s age is the most important factor in assessing his health.
“I think the concern about the president’s physical health is probably at an all-time high,” Kuhlman told the Associated Press.
If Trump stays in office until August 2028, he will become the oldest US president, surpassing Joe Biden’s record of 82 years and two months at the end of his term.
Biden’s struggles with understanding while in office — and the extent to which his aides may have tried to hide it — have raised doubts about whether Trump’s administration is in the clear.
Trump’s ‘obvious health concerns’
There are no legal obligations for the president to tell the public about his personal life.
“I think we can expect very little disclosure about the actual health status of any president unless they are in perfect health,” said Sara Rosenthal, a bioethicist at the University of Kentucky who studies presidential health.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, says pilots, Secret Service agents and school bus drivers must pass annual medical exams, so he says the chief executive’s results should be made public.
“We have to be clear that the president is ready for the job,” Reiner told CNN this week. He asked for “an honest explanation [Trump’s] physical health problems.”
As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke at his side during a cabinet meeting on December 2, 2025, President Donald Trump appeared to close his eyes repeatedly. Trump denied that he fell asleep. ‘Look, it’s been boring,’ he said at his next cabinet meeting in January. ‘I just closed them because I want to get the hell out of here.’
Over the past year, Trump’s outward appearance and signs of fatigue have fueled constant public speculation about his health.
Last summer, Trump appeared to have visible swelling in his ankles. He has often been seen with blue bruises on the backs of his hands.
Sleep or blink?
On several occasions in front of TV cameras in recent months, Trump has appeared to close his eyes for extended periods of time.
“The president has trouble sleeping during the day, he sleeps all the time,” said Reimer.
The White House has strongly responded to all allegations that Trump slept through meetings, including earlier this month.
As for the inflammation, the official explanation of the White House doctor Dr. Sean Barbabella was that it is a sign of chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older adults that causes blood clotting.
Barbabella said the injury was caused by a combination of Trump’s frequent handshakes and his use of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular problems.
Recently, bruises were visible on Trump’s left hand, which is not the one he usually uses to shake hands.
Doctor praises Trump’s ‘active lifestyle’
Trump had his annual physical in April 2025, after which Barbabella declared the president to be in excellent health.
“His active lifestyle continues to have a major impact on his well-being,” Barbabella wrote, noting in particular “Trump’s victories at golf events.”
Trump had another body in October. He said he had an MRI, but neither he nor White House officials explained why. Later they said the procedure is a CT scan.
Both MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT (computed tomography) provide detailed internal imaging for many diagnostic purposes. MRIs are mostly used to scan the brain or search for inflammation or infection in soft tissues, while CT scans are often used to identify fractures, blood clots or tumors, according to radiologists.
The state of Trump’s mental health has become a serious issue.
Trump has long been known for a speaking style he calls the “weave,” where he moves from topic to topic. Recently, commentators have pointed out times when Trump’s words on the same topic have been mixed and mixed.
Consider these three verbatim examples from another recent event, his televised cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
- About drug prices: “That pill I talked about will go from $10 to $20. The country is bigger than the US Hard to believe, but it’s true. So it’s not like you cut it in half – you had to go up a little. But a little doubling of the price. So a little is a lot.”
- In renovating the Lincoln Memorial display pool: “The hard part is done. Then we decided to do more than what we did at first – that’s me at first – I thought I would do more, but we said the problem is the outer ring looks very bad, where you walk. So we scrapped that. All this extra work we didn’t want to do. You know, when you do something like this, when you do one, you look at the other, you think it’s good. The old things that looked good look really bad.”
- In chasing criminals: “By the way, 90 percent of crime – they count, they count – 2 percent of people commit 90 percent of crime. That’s a big number. Because when you take away 2 percent – 2 percent you can eliminate it, 90 percent you can’t eliminate it. Two percent. Exactly.”
In a letter sent to Congress last month, more than 30 medical experts, including psychiatrists and neurologists, described “obvious signs of serious medical concern” in Trump.
Concerns they flagged include “significant deterioration in cognitive function” and “significant loss of self-control.”
Screening for dementia
Trump has repeatedly boasted about his mental toughness, including exaggerating the importance of passing what his doctor revealed was the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a standard test for dementia.
The White House doctor reported Trump’s score as 30/30. A score below 26 is the threshold for cognitive impairment, indicating the possible onset of dementia.
“It’s really a tough test for a lot of people,” Trump said in March. “They get solid stats and stuff.”
He brags about Trump’s life from him and his team since his entry into politics.
“His strength and stamina are amazing,” said Trump’s physician at the time, Dr. Harold Bornstein, in a letter made public in December 2015 when he was seeking the Republican nomination.
“If elected, Mr. Trump, I can say unequivocally, he will be the healthiest person ever elected to the office of president,” wrote the doctor, who admitted to CNN in 2020 that Trump was referring to the book.
