President Donald Trump says a routine physical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26 “checked out PERFECTLY,” less than three weeks before his 80th birthday. The statement lands amid months of scrutiny over visible bruises and swelling
President Donald Trump walked through Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington, D.C. area on May 26 and came away with a result he says was spotless: “everything had checked out PERFECTLY.”
He posted the message in a Truth Social update less than three weeks before his 80th birthday. calling the visit a clean bill of health after what he described as his “6 month physical.” Trump. the oldest person to be inaugurated as U.S. president, said it was conducted as a routine exam and thanked the “great Doctors and Staff.”.
The physical exam was the fourth one of his second term. An official letter from Dr. Sean Barbabella, the president’s physician, was not immediately released.
Trump’s claim also arrives against a backdrop of sustained public attention to his health after visible concerns appeared over the past year. Questions swelled last summer when Trump was seen with swelling around his ankles and bruising on the back of his right hand. Earlier this year, photographs taken during a Medal of Honor ceremony in March showed discolored skin behind his right ear.
The White House previously addressed those issues with specific explanations. It said the ankle swelling stemmed from chronic venous insufficiency. or CVI. a condition in which leg veins don’t send blood back to the heart properly. For the bruising on the back of his hand, it pointed to frequent handshaking and aspirin. Trump later developed bruising on his left hand, which he said he blamed on hitting a table.
As for the discoloration behind his right ear. the White House said it was caused by a cream. without offering further detail about what the cream was for at the time. Dr. Sean Barbabella described it in a statement provided earlier. saying Trump was using “a very common cream on the right side of his neck. ” calling it a preventative skin treatment. Barbabella said the president was using the treatment for one week and that “the redness is expected to last for a few weeks.”.
The letter from Barbabella following the May 26 exam was not immediately made public. underscoring the wider reality of how presidential health information is handled. The White House typically decides what data will be released from a president’s health exam. and Trump is not required to provide any information. There is no set template for what must be disclosed. and during his presidential campaigns he released only limited details about his health.
The question of what people saw versus what is said has followed Trump closely. Last April, he said he took a cognitive test and “got every answer right.”
Those health disclosures and descriptions land with special political weight because Trump has repeatedly framed age as a vulnerability. During the 2024 election, he attacked his predecessor, Joe Biden, then 81, for his age and alleged lack of vigor.
Donald Trump Walter Reed physical exam Sean Barbabella chronic venous insufficiency CVI cognitive test Truth Social 80th birthday bruises swelling skin discoloration