A prominent doctor has demanded answers from the White House following President Donald Trump's weeklong absence from public view after his latest medical examination. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University and former cardiologist to Dick Cheney, expressed concerns on social media, calling for the president's physician to address the press.
Trump, who turns 80 next month, visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26 for his third medical check-up in just over a year. After a Cabinet meeting the following day, he disappeared from public events for a week, only reappearing for a previously closed-press executive order signing. The White House insists there is no cause for alarm, and Trump boasted on social media that his results 'checked out PERFECTLY.' His physician, Sean Barbabella, reported that the president 'remains in excellent health.'
However, medical experts have noted omissions in the report. A group of physicians told The Wall Street Journal that key details from tests such as a coronary CT angiography and carotid ultrasound were missing. Dr William Shutze, a Texas vascular surgeon, said he would have expected more information about plaque buildup. The report also failed to mention finasteride, a hair loss drug Trump has taken for years, raising questions about transparency.
Robert Klitzman, a Columbia University psychiatrist, told The Washington Post that the omission 'raises significant questions of what else is possibly not being revealed.' Reiner echoed this, stating that an incomplete report is not credible. The medical report attributed recurring bruising on Trump's hands to 'frequent handshaking' and noted improvement in lower leg swelling.
Concerns about Trump's health have persisted for months, with reports of drowsiness during meetings. In May, Reiner told CNN that Trump suffers from 'severe daytime somnolence' and has fallen asleep in the Oval Office. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle dismissed such claims as 'armchair diagnosis' and 'false speculation,' asserting that Trump is the 'sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history.'
Polls indicate public scepticism: a May Ipsos survey found 55% of respondents believe Trump lacks the physical health to serve, and 59% question his mental acuity. The White House has not yet made the president's physician available for questions.
