Trump predicts he'll get high marks in presidential check-up

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump predicted Thursday that his scheduled yearly medical exam would "go very well," the day before heading to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for his first annual medical check-up as president.

"I'll be very surprised if it doesn't," Trump told reporters during a press availability Thursday afternoon. As reporters filed out of the room, Trump joked: "It better go well. Otherwise the stock market will not be happy."

White House physician Ronny Jackson will conduct the exam, the White House said, telling reporters to expect a statement Friday after the assessment. Jackson is also expected to brief reporters Tuesday in greater detail about the results.

Psychiatric evaluations will not be among those reports, since the exam won't assess the president's mental health — a topic that's drawn fresh speculation after the release of the new book "Fire and Fury," a behind-the-scenes look at the Trump White House.

In the book, author Michael Wolff cites advisers and aides in Trump's orbit who he said regularly discuss the president's mental stability or his increasing penchant for repeating himself in conversation. NBC News has not substantiated many of the claims made in the book.

The president defended his mental fitness over the weekend, tweeting that he was a "very stable genius" and "like, really smart," with the latter among the "greatest assets" of his life and career.

Later in his stream of tweets on the issue, Trump attacked his opponents for “taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence.”

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFood banks overwhelmed by Trump cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘We’re going to beat you to death with audits’: Brad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump administration’s deal with Nevada fuels data center fight in governor’s race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Democrats eye big midterm gains, the Wisconsin governor’s race remains a nail-biter

Slide 1 of 1

During Reagan's second term in office, there was continued speculation about his state of mind. In 1994, he publicly revealed that he had Alzheimer's disease.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFood banks overwhelmed by Trump cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘We’re going to beat you to death with audits’: Brad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump administration’s deal with Nevada fuels data center fight in governor’s race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Democrats eye big midterm gains, the Wisconsin governor’s race remains a nail-biter

Slide 1 of 1

It's traditional for presidential candidates to release some details of their medical history during the campaign, though the discussion around Trump's own health history in 2016 was anything but standard.

In late 2015, Trump's longtime physician Dr. Harold Bornstein wrote in a letter that "if elected, Mr. Trump ... will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Bornstein later told NBC News he wrote that letter in just five minutes while a limo sent by the candidate waited outside his Manhattan office.

As Election Day drew nearer, Trump took the results of his recent physical examination to Dr. Mehmet Oz's daytime TV show. "I have no problem" sharing my medical results, Trump told Dr. Oz before polling the applauding audience on whether he should do it.