WASHINGTON — White House physician Sean Barbabella released a memo detailing the results of President Donald Trump’s annual physical on Friday, writing that the president is in “excellent health.”
Trump exhibits “robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function,” Barbabella wrote. “His active lifestyle continues to contribute significantly to his well-being.”
“President Trump’s days include participation in multiple meetings, public appearances, press availability, and frequent victories in golf events,” he continued. “President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”
The physical included diagnostic and laboratory testing, according to Barbabella’s memo. The physician also consulted with 14 specialty consultants, he added.
After undergoing the physical — the first of such examination of his second administration — at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday, Trump told reporters that he had faced a barrage of tests, “every test you can imagine,” including a cognitive examination.
Asked whether he had been given any advice for habits he needed to change, Trump said: “A little bit,” but said that overall he was “in very good shape.”
The exam results offer the first public information on the president’s health since the July assassination attempt against him during an open-air campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In a memo at the time, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, formerly the White House physician, detailed the gunshot wound to Trump’s ear.
Barbabella noted in his diagnostic summary that Trump has scarring on his right hear from a gunshot wound, referring to the assassination attempt at the rally last summer.
The memo said Trump’s heart, lungs, eyes, hearing and abdominal exam results were all normal. His blood pressure was slightly elevated, at 128/74, and the dermatological exam revealed “some minor sun damage and a few benign lesions,” the memo said.
His routine lab work appeared to be within the normal ranges for blood count, kidney, liver and thyroid tests. Trump’s cholesterol appeared to be well controlled though medication, and his blood sugar is within normal limits.
The memo also indicated that Trump has lost 20 pounds since his last released physical in 2020. The memo said the president weighs 224 pounds with a body mass index of 28, putting him in the overweight category.
The president’s medicines listed in the memo include cholesterol medication and aspirin for heart disease prevention as well as a topical steroid cream as needed for his skin.
The president also underwent “a comprehensive neurological examination,” which did not indicate any abnormalities, Barbabella wrote.
Trump completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a common screening tool for cognitive impairment that typically takes about 10 minutes, achieving a normal result with a score of 30 out of 30, Barbabella said.
The president previously boasted about his score on the cognitive test, which is designed to assess mild cognitive impairment or early dementia.
“It’s like you’ll go: ‘Person, woman, man, camera, TV.’ So they say, ‘Could you repeat that?’ So I said, ‘Yeah. So it’s ‘person, woman, man, camera, TV.’ ‘OK, that’s very good. If you get it in order you get extra points,’” Trump said in 2020.
Trump also released details of his health in a brief doctor’s letter in Nov. 2023. The letter from Bryce Aronwald, a New Jersey doctor, said Trump had lost weight and that his “overall health is excellent,” and “his cognitive exams were exceptional.” In 2020, a few weeks before Election Day, Trump was treated at Walter Reed during a severe bout of Covid.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that Trump’s health and stamina helped to fuel a decision to upend global trading norms when he sent shockwaves through the markets with a new tariff agenda last week.
“You’ve seen people on both sides of the aisles calling for this for years,” Leavitt said, noting that prior presidents may have “lacked the courage, or maybe the work ethic or the stamina to take on such a task.”
Trump’s delayed departure for the physical Friday morning “was because he was working on this very issue,” she added.
Trump announced his plans for the physical earlier last week, writing on Truth Social that he has “never felt better, but nevertheless, these things must be done!”
In November, Trump became the oldest person elected president. The record was previously held by President Joe Biden, whose age prompted concerns from voters. The president’s health became a top issue during the campaign as Trump criticized Biden's cognitive health and questioned whether he was capable of sustaining another four years in office.
After vigorously defending his fitness during the campaign, Biden exited the race following a disastrous debate performance that raised wider concerns about his declining health and ability to lead the country.
In a summary of his most recent routine physical, a White House doctor had proclaimed Biden “fit for duty,” finding that the then-president “fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”
Trump underwent his last annual physical as president in June 2020. A summary issued by the White House at the time said the president weighed 244 pounds and that his blood pressure was 121 over 79, and that his daily medications included aspirin and a cholesterol drug.
