Such frequent visits by the head of state to one medical center is more than usual – presidents usually visit them once a year unless there is an urgent need. In October, Trump underwent an MRI, and his doctor, Sean Barbabella, explained that the examination was an advanced imaging diagnostic with preventive purposes.
What is Trump's health really like? “He is unfit to hold office”
Although American law does not require the president to publish medical records, annual inspections at Walter Reed have become a tradition, says the Washington Post. The next visit opens a discussion in the overseas media about the physical and mental condition of the head of state.
Journalists point out that reliable data about Trump's health is difficult to obtain. The person concerned himself presents himself as a man in excellent shape, and similar assurances come from the White House and his doctor. “I feel the same as I did 50 years ago,” Trump said on May 4 at the White House. — I'm not a senior. “I'm much younger than the senior,” he emphasized, quoted by “USA Today.”
However, some critics and the medical community indicate that many doubts remain unexplained. Some go as far as to say that Trump is unfit to serve as president, the daily notes.
Democrats several times demanded an independent medical examination of the head of state. They also considered using the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which regulates the procedure for replacing the president and provides for situations in which he is unable to perform his duties. So far, the 25th Amendment has not been used to remove any sitting president, and commentators estimate that such a scenario also remains unlikely in Trump's case.
Recently, a group of American psychiatrists and other mental health specialists also expressed their opinion that Trump is “unfit” to hold office, writes the British Medical Journal. Experts pointed to a “clear deterioration in the president's cognitive functioning.” However, they stated that they did not conduct a personal examination with him.
In April, the New York Times wrote that Trump's “erratic behavior and radical comments” about Iran and the pope had reopened the debate about the president's mental fitness. Doubts also appeared in January – then Trump demanded to take control of Greenland. As another example of the president's emotional reactions, the American media pointed to his grievances related to not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The mystery of the bruises on Trump's hands. Something else is also questionable
The president himself likes to refer to his results in cognitive tests. “I don't mind being called a brilliant, absolute tyrant and dictator, but I don't want to be called stupid,” he said last Friday. He also stated that “all presidents and vice presidential candidates should be required to pass a cognitive test and an IQ test,” arguing that his results would be better than those of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Trump entered the White House as the oldest person in US history to be elected to this office. The Washington Post reminds that during the campaign he displayed his own energy and vitality, contrasting them with the health of then-President Joe Biden. He referred to the results of cognitive tests and mocked his rival, calling him “Sleepy Joe”. “But as an aging president, he now faces some of the same questions that have haunted Biden – whether he is mentally and physically capable of performing the duties of commander in chief,” the daily writes.
Concern about the president's health is also visible in the public mood. In a study conducted last month by “WaPo”, ABC News and Ipsos, 40 percent respondents rated Trump as mentally competent to hold office — down from 47 percent listed in September last year. The president's physical health was deemed adequate for this function by 44 percent. respondents, while at that time this answer was given by 54 percent.
As Biden approached his 80th birthday, his aides adjusted their schedules — moving events to the middle of the day instead of in the evening, and using a different staircase for security to board Air Force One. Officials close to Trump, asked about possible adjustments related to the age of the current host of the White House, assured that there was no such need.
