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33. MaddowBlog-The 3 biggest problems with the results of Trump's latest medical exam
Mon Jun 1, 2026, 12:21 PM
Yesterday

The president and his team have had multiple opportunities to earn the benefit of the doubt about his personal health. They keep failing.

The three biggest problems with the results of Trump’s latest medical exam (released Friday night, as part of an apparent attempt to bury the news):
- what was in the report released by the White House
- what *wasn’t* in the report
- the decade-long pattern of obfuscation
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-01T14:18:22.560Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/the-3-biggest-problems-with-the-results-of-trumps-latest-medical-exam

After the appointment, Trump gave himself a clean bill of health and vowed to provide news organizations with a summary in “the next day or so.” That was on Tuesday. It wasn’t until Friday night — a time when the White House tends to release information it hopes the public will overlook — when there was some disclosure. MS NOW reported:

President Donald Trump’s physician declared him in “excellent health,” but recommended the president lose weight and exercise more following his latest physical exam.

Cognitive and physical performance are excellent,” Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella wrote in his report released on Friday. “He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”


At first blush, that might seem like a routine summary, but a closer look suggests three lingering problems with the developments.

What was in the report: The three-page report released by the White House included plenty of anodyne details, but it also added some curious elements. Barbabella, for example, stated that Trump has a “cardiac age” of a 65-year-old, based on the results of an “AI-enhanced electrocardiogram analysis.” It also pointed to “frequent handshaking” to explain the bruising that often appears on the president’s left and right hands.

Dr. Vin Gupta, a medical analyst for MS NOW, noted online, “When a President’s physicians start citing ‘AI cardiac age’ metrics and explaining bilateral bruising from ‘frequent handshaking,’ the line between medical documentation and political messaging disappears.”

What’s more, the same report from the White House noted that Trump also took another cognitive exam, the fourth of his presidency.....

What was not in the report: That the documentation released by the White House spanned three pages might give the impression of comprehensiveness, but that’s not quite right. The Wall Street Journal reported, for example, “The White House memorandum describing President Trump’s recent physical examination lacks details of the results of tests to assess his cardiovascular health, according to physicians who read the report. That is one of several areas of the report that doctors said stood out for its lack of specificity.”.....

The lengthy pattern: The problem started before Trump even took office. In late 2015, during the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Team Trump released an unintentionally hilarious four-paragraph letter from the late Dr. Harold Bornstein, asserting that Trump’s “physical strength and stamina are extraordinary” and that his lab tests results were “astonishingly excellent.” The doctor added at the time, “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”

We learned several months later that Bornstein wrote the letter in five minutes while a limo, dispatched by Trump, waited for the document.....

The president and his team, in other words, have had multiple opportunities to earn the benefit of the doubt about his personal health and medical history. They keep failing.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Is he going to start bragging about his cognitive tests again... MiHale Tuesday #1
Glad AP had the stones to include these paragraphs BaronChocula Tuesday #2
No, Jeffrey, dementia and psychotic behavior is the concern. travelingthrulife Wednesday #25
Three hours for preventive medical and dental checkups? generalbetrayus Tuesday #3
And you know none of it was sitting in a waiting room intrepidity Tuesday #8
Why Did It Take 3 Hours? MissouriDem47 Tuesday #4
Maybe it takes that long to recharge his battery. generalbetrayus Tuesday #6
Or graft in another brain... The Madcap Tuesday #11
Took him a long time to figure out which one was the lion. SeattleVet Tuesday #18
yes Skittles Tuesday #22
Becuz it takes him that long to jog 12 miles on the treatmill Vogon_Glory Wednesday #26
I like presidents who don't require three hour medical visits. RockRaven Tuesday #5
Did they add new animals to his list? nt woodsprite Tuesday #7
Poor vocabulary bmichaelh Tuesday #9
I like how the press rarely questions whether truth social posts come from Trump Ilikepurple Tuesday #10
Liar. I'll never believe anything he says, and besides, who among the cowards surrounding him would Amendment SWBTATTReg Tuesday #12
Of Course We Can Just Take His Word for It! The Roux Comes First Tuesday #13
Is he going back to the WH or straight to Camp David???? nt in2herbs Tuesday #14
3 hours, eh? City Lights Tuesday #15
3 hours? LudwigPastorius Tuesday #16
Seven dental checkups in two and half months seems rather sketchy Torchlight Tuesday #17
Something is wrong with his teeth. yardwork Wednesday #28
My theory : The real one went to hamburger heaven long ago Blumancru Tuesday #19
Looks/reads like a STENT placement. Don't want the heart shutting down in middle of its wallow walk. dave99 Tuesday #20
If it had actually gone "perfectly" Grokenstein Tuesday #21
Four exams in less than six months...... Bayard Wednesday #23
3 hours is a long time Deminpenn Wednesday #24
takes a while to remove his head from up in his ass.... CTyankee Wednesday #27
Why would he have to go to Florida to see his dentist? 3catwoman3 Wednesday #29
Don't overthink it. These are like building inspections. usonian Wednesday #30
White House breaks from precedent by not releasing Trump's medical report LetMyPeopleVote Friday #31
They extracted his head from his ass? Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Saturday #32
MaddowBlog-The 3 biggest problems with the results of Trump's latest medical exam LetMyPeopleVote Yesterday #33
Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Trump wraps up 3-hour med...»Reply #33