US President Donald Trump, who in January became the oldest in US history to be sworn in as president, spent nearly five hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre on Friday undergoing what he called "every test you can imagine”.
“I did well,” he declared mid-air on his way to Florida aboard Air Force One. “Overall, I felt I was in very good shape. A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul.”
While the official medical report from White House doctors may not be released until the weekend, the president left no ambiguity in his self-assessment. “I think I did very well,” he said.
The examination comes at a politically sensitive time.
Despite his repeated attacks on former President Biden’s age and cognitive capabilities, Trump has routinely shielded details of his own health from public scrutiny.
Even now, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt could only promise that a physician’s readout would be released and it would be “comprehensive”.
The last such public note came from Dr Bruce A Aronwald in November 2023, posted on Trump's own social media platform.
It reported that Trump was in “excellent” physical and mental health. However, it omitted basic markers like weight, blood pressure, or cholesterol levels. Instead, it stated that Trump had “reduced his weight” and that his “cognitive exams were exceptional”.
This latest medical comes just months after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, once Trump's White House physician and still an unwavering supporter, issued a memo instead of an official health report.
The memo briefly confirmed a gunshot wound to Trump’s right ear.
This lack of transparency is not new. In 2019, a sudden trip to Walter Reed for a “very routine physical” was omitted from Trump’s public schedule entirely.
Three days later, the White House issued a statement from Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley, calling it a “planned interim checkup” that was kept off the record “due to scheduling uncertainties”.
“Whatever it is, I got every one — I got it all right.”
But can cognitive or other medical tests explain a diet so questionable?
Trump Force One, Trump’s 2016 campaign jet, insiders reportedly say was always stocked with what campaign advisors Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie dubbed “the four major food groups”: McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza, and Diet Coke.
At one point, The New York Times reported he consumed up to 12 cans of Diet Coke a day...so much so that he had a button on his White House desk specifically to order a fresh one.
He reportedly shunned vegetables and exercise, relying instead on “the energy” of his campaign rallies to keep fit.
His love for fast food isn't just indulgent, it’s performative.
During the 2024 campaign trail, he worked at a McDonald's drive-thru in Pennsylvania, handing out McNuggets and posing in an apron, saying, “I love everything on the menu.”
His personal favourites? A well-done steak (served with ketchup), KFC buckets, Oreos, and double scoops of ice cream.
Former Mar-a-Lago staff recalled he preferred his meat “overcooked”, explicitly requesting “no garbage with it”, meaning no vegetables or garnishes.
Ronny Jackson once joked that Trump could “live to be 200” if he ever gave up junk food — though even the former doctor had to hide cauliflower in his mashed potatoes.
When asked about lifestyle advice from doctors on Friday, Trump said they gave him “a little bit”, though he declined to elaborate.