Three days after the last physical exam of U.S. President Donald Trump, The White House has not released the medical report as usual, increasing questions about the health and physical condition of the president.
Trump, who is the oldest head of state to be inaugurated in the United States, stated on social media that he was in perfect health after a several-hour visit this Tuesday to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.
But despite having promised to provide a summary of the checkup in “the coming days,” as CNN pointed out, his Administration has not offered any additional information to date, nor confirmed that his doctor plans to provide a public report in the short term.
According to the same outlet, this “three-day silence” marks a change from how the White House handled previous medical exams of the Republican leader.
Last April, after another visit to the mentioned health center, Dr. Sean Barbabella—his personal doctor—summarized the results in a memorandum published two days later. Then, when Trump returned for an exam in October, Barbabella’s statement that the president continued to enjoy “exceptional health” was published that same day.
Which clearly differs from what is happening this time, when the magnate has so far been the only source of information about his own health, just weeks before turning 80.
“I find it unimaginable that the White House does not issue a statement about the president’s health, not even a basic one,” Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and longtime cardiologist for former Vice President Dick Cheney, told CNN.
“If the White House refuses to disclose his medical report, this will raise serious doubts about the president’s fitness for office”, Reiner pointed out.
So far, the U.S. president has always been reserved about his health problems, placing great importance on projecting an image of strength and vitality.
Thus, both during the election campaign and in the Oval Office, Trump has made his vigor a fundamental pillar of his political identity, frequently boasting about his physical and mental well-being.
An attitude that previous medical reports often corroborated. Like when Dr. Ronny Jackson, the doctor during his first term, effusively praised his “incredible genes” during a press conference dedicated to his health.
However, according to CNN, as Trump approaches his eighth decade, the visible signs of Trump’s aging and his sometimes erratic behavior have intensified scrutiny of his health and demands for greater transparency.
It was also noted that his hospital visit this Tuesday is the third of this kind in the last 13 months, an unusual frequency compared to the usual practice of previous presidents undergoing one exam per year.
Adding to this, medical experts say the White House’s current reluctance to provide more details about his health only makes it harder to dispel any greater concerns.
“That would imply there is information they do not want the public to know”, Reiner said about the lack of transparency regarding Trump’s most recent exam. “It intensifies distrust in his transparency,” he noted.
