Another health assessment ahead: Trump’s annual checkup will be his second in 6 months

The White House said President Donald Trump will undergo a “routine yearly” medical check-up at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday following a scheduled meeting with service members there.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that President Trump will stop at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a routine annual exam during a scheduled visit with service members, then return to the White House and may travel to the Middle East as peace discussions between Israel and Hamas continue.

At a White House roundtable later Wednesday, Trump referenced potential travel, saying, “I’ll be going to Egypt, most likely, that’s where everybody is gathered right now.”

Trump previously completed an annual physical at Walter Reed in April, which included diagnostic and laboratory testing and offered the first public update on his health during his second term. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about why a “yearly check-up” is being conducted six months after that examination.

In an April memo, White House physician Sean Barbabella reported that Trump was in “excellent health,” writing that the “President exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.” The document also indicated that Trump is taking a cholesterol-lowering medication and is categorized as overweight.

Trump, 79, became the oldest person elected president in November, a few months older than former President Joe Biden was when elected in 2020.

Public speculation about Trump’s health intensified recently after he was not seen for several days ahead of Labor Day weekend. Attention has also focused on a bruise on the back of his right hand that has at times appeared to be covered with makeup. In February, the White House attributed the bruise to Trump “constantly working and shaking hands all day every day,” and a July physician’s report said it was a side effect of an aspirin regimen used to prevent cardiovascular problems.

Questions about transparency around Trump’s medical history have arisen before. His former physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, said Trump dictated a 2015 statement—released under Bornstein’s name—describing his health as “astonishingly excellent.” In 2019, Trump asked personnel during a Walter Reed visit to sign nondisclosure agreements related to the visit, which later was disclosed to have been a colonoscopy.