Trump undergoes physical and cognitive exams, says he has ‘a very good soul’

Aboard Air Force One: US President Donald Trump, who in January became the oldest person to assume the US presidency, has undergone his first physical exam of his second term and said it went well, with results set to be released on Sunday.

Trump, who turns 79 in June and likes fast food so much he staged a photo-op at a McDonald’s during his campaign last year, spent several hours being poked and prodded by the doctors at Walter Reed Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland.

US President Donald Trump talks to reporters on board Air Force One, as he, Elon Musk travel to Palm Beach, Florida.Credit: AP

“It went, I think, well ... every test you can imagine, I was there for a long time, the yearly physical,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I think I did well. I think they’re releasing the report on Sunday.”

Trump also said he took a cognitive exam and got all the answers right.

“Overall I felt I was in very good shape. A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul and I took – I wanted to be a little different than Biden. I took a cognitive test and I don’t know what to tell you other than I got every answer right,” Trump said.

The physical could offer the first clear look at Trump’s condition since his ear was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Then his campaign released a report by Ronny Jackson, Trump’s former White House doctor and a Republican congressman from Texas, saying the injuries were superficial.

Trump leaves Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, after his annual physical appointment.Credit: AP

The White House typically determines what data will be released from a president’s health exam and earlier in the day, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said results would be released as soon as possible.

Trump is not compelled to release any information, and there is no template for the presidential exam. Trump released only limited information about his health during his presidential campaigns.

During the 2024 election, Trump drew sharp contrasts with his predecessor, Joe Biden, now 82, claiming he was younger and fitter.

A White House doctor in 2018, when Trump was serving his first term, said the president was in overall excellent health but needed to shed weight and start a daily exercise routine.

When asked if the medical team had suggested any changes to his habits this time, the president said that they had “a little bit”, but did not elaborate further.

Trump included a cognitive exam, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, as part of his physical during his first term, and his doctor later said he scored 30 out of 30.

Biden released detailed summaries of his physical exams while in office, but several books published in recent months have raised questions about his mental acuity in his final months in the White House.

The mental ability and age of both Biden and Trump were in focus during last year’s election campaign, especially after Biden’s disastrous performance in a debate with Trump in June, and Trump’s increasingly rambling speeches at rallies.

Reuters

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