The president has been photographed with significant bruising on his hands in recent months. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Speculation surrounding President Trump’s health is swirling once more, prompting the White House to issue an official response.
The president’s personal spokesperson has dismissed claims that POTUS is undergoing treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, after rumors about his condition exploded across social media platforms over the weekend.
Alarm bells rang when the White House announced at 11:08 a.m. on Saturday that the 79-year-old Republican commander-in-chief would be making no public appearances for the rest of the day. It’s an atypical decision for Trump, who usually travels to Mar-a-Lago for weekend golf outings.
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POTUS, who had already reached 70 when he initially assumed office, has faced ongoing criticism for maintaining secrecy around his health records while ridiculing others’ physical ailments. At the time of his second White House win, Trump had failed to disclose any meaningful health information since 2015, despite pledging in August 2024 to release the results of a recent medical evaluation.
Now emerging concerns – including discolored hands, a visibly inflamed neck rash, awkward ‘memory lapses’ and an unexplained MRI scan – have sparked intense scrutiny from the American public, reports the Mirror.
In characteristic Trump style, he frequently waves off these worries with bombastic declarations about his ‘perfect’ health. Several of his assertions have drawn skepticism from medical professionals. We examine every boast the president has delivered regarding his physical and cognitive fitness.
In October, Trump revealed he had undergone an MRI scan at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
MRI riddle
In October, Trump revealed he had undergone an MRI scan at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and according to him, the results were “perfect”.
The president stated that his physician had declared him to be in “exceptional health” and even boasted: “The doctor said [it] was some of the best reports, for the age, they’ve ever seen.”
According to presidential physician Dr. Sean Barbabella, the MRI was a “scheduled follow-up evaluation as part of his ongoing health maintenance plan and included advanced imaging, laboratory testing, and preventative health assessments.” The doctor stated at the time that Trump “continues to demonstrate excellent overall health.”
The MRI came several months after the White House disclosed that POTUS had been diagnosed with a condition affecting his veins known as chronic venous insufficiency, following his observation of swelling in his legs.
However, shortly after announcing his ‘perfect’ scan, Dr. Barbabella confirmed during a Wall Street Journal interview that Trump had actually received a CT scan rather than an MRI, to “definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues.”
According to CNN, Trump underwent this precise procedure back in 2018. At that time, the president would most likely have required some form of cholesterol-lowering medication along with “aggressive lifestyle management recommendations,” including exercise. Nevertheless, Trump has openly admitted that he engages in no exercise beyond golf, as he considers it “boring”.
Aspirin admission
Trump has acknowledged that he consumes more aspirin than physicians advise, and has maintained this practice for the past 25 years.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal.
He revealed he takes 325mg of aspirin daily, exceeding the 81mg dosage recommended by medical professionals. “They’d rather have me take the smaller one,” Trump disclosed. However, he’s reluctant to alter his regimen as he’s a “little superstitious”.
Guidelines from the Mayo Clinic indicate that the likelihood of experiencing a heart attack and stroke increases with age, and a low dosage of aspirin can help prevent both conditions by inhibiting clots and thinning blood. However, it cautions that the danger of bleeding from aspirin consumption also rises with age. The clinic states that a daily aspirin therapy dosage ranges between 75mg and 325mg.
He has also faced criticism for seemingly falling asleep during meetings.(Image: X)
‘Dozing off’
Trump recently boasted about the results of a cognitive assessment he completed in December, yet he has also faced criticism for appearing to fall asleep during meetings.
In an unusual rebuttal, POTUS pushed back against allegations he dozes off and explained that the reason for the awkward incidents is that photographers “sometimes take a picture of me blinking”. Last month, the president was visibly struggling to keep his eyes open during a televised National Guard briefing in Memphis, where he was being commended for his role in reducing crime rates. Yet he has firmly denied ever dozing off during public engagements, claiming he occasionally closes his eyes because he finds it “relaxing”.
He once openly admitted to finding Cabinet meetings “boring as hell”. In an interview with New York magazine, he stated: “I’m going around a room, and I’ve got 28 guys – the last one was three and a half hours. I have to sit back and listen, and I move my hand so that people will know I’m listening.
“I’m hearing every word, and I can’t wait to get out,” he added.
The President repeatedly queried in public whether he was likely to go to heaven after his death.(Image: Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock)
Mental exam
During a speech in North Carolina last year, Trump disclosed that he had taken cognitive tests.
In an address that was originally intended to focus on the economy, he veered off course, rambling: “I did something no other president’s ever done. I took cognitive tests because I know that and by the way, not easy. You get to those last questions, those last 10, 15 questions…and I aced them. And no other president’s taken a cog–… Could you imagine sleepy Joe taking a cognitive test?”
Trump then detailed the nature of the questions posed to him, adding: “The first question is like, ‘What is this?’ And they show a lion, a giraffe, a fish, and a hippopotamus. And they say, ‘Which is the giraffe?’ I don’t think Joe would have gotten the first question right. He would say hippo. ‘I want the hippo’.
“I’ve taken now three cognitive tests. I’ve aced every single one of them,” Trump claimed, pausing as the crowd applauded and cheered.
Bruises and makeup
The president has been photographed with significant bruising on his hands in recent months. However, the White House has been swift to dismiss any concerns, attributing the bruising to frequent handshaking.
In August 2025, a prominent bruise was noticed on the president’s hand as he signed an executive order in the Oval Office, just days after footage of him on the golf course revealed a similarly bruised hand. A separate image at another event appeared to indicate that POTUS had applied concealer to the back of his hand.
Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, stated that his bruises are consistent with “tissue damage from frequent handshaking” while taking aspirin, which she maintained is “part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen”.
Trump has previously acknowledged carrying makeup on his person, telling the Wall Street Journal it was in case his hand got “whacked”.
‘Living until 200’
Last month, at an event honoring the US Naval Academy football team, the president addressed questions surrounding his health, asserting that his physician had declared him the healthiest commander-in-chief of the last three.
“They said, ‘Who is the healthiest of the three?’ He said, ‘President Donald J Trump by far. If he didn’t eat junk food, he’d live to 200 years old.’ And I love this guy.”
Doctor’s shock
Back in 2015, ahead of his first presidential campaign, Trump released a flattering physician’s letter describing his health as “astonishingly excellent”, lauding the businessman-turned-politician’s “extraordinary” strength and stamina.
The letter, written by Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, stated: “To Whom My Concern: I have been the personal physician of Mr Donald J. Trump since 1980. His previous physician was my father, Dr Jacob Bornstein. Over the past 39 years, I am pleased to report that Mr Trump has had no significant medical problems.
“Mr Trump has had a recent complete medical examination that showed only positive results. Actually, his blood pressure, 110/65, and laboratory test results were astonishingly excellent. Over the past twelve months, he has lost at least fifteen pounds, Mr Trump takes 81 mg of aspirin daily and a low dose of a statin. His PSA test score is 0.15 (very low). His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary.”
The letter, which boldly claimed that the fast-food-loving Trump would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency”, went on to state: “Mr Trump has suffered no form of cancer, has never had a hip, knee or shoulder replacement or any other orthopaedic surgery.
“His only surgery was an appendectomy at age ten. His cardiovascular status is excellent. He has no history of ever using alcohol or tobacco products. If elected, Mr Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” However, matters took a startling twist in 2018 when Dr Bornstein alleged that President Trump had dictated the wording of the letter to him, which he wrote in just five minutes. Dr Bornstein claimed to CNN: “He dictated that whole letter. I didn’t write that letter. I just made it up as I went along.”
Characterizing the letter-writing process as an instance of “black humour”, the Manhattan-based Dr Bornstein described the sequence of events as being “like the movie ‘Fargo’: It takes the truth and moves it in a different direction.” The White House did not publicly respond to Dr Bornstein’s claims that the wording had been dictated by President Trump.