President Donald Trump is set to return to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, May 26, for his third medical checkup in the past 13 months.
The White House announced the president’s medical and dental visit earlier this month, but did not provide details about what the appointment would involve or what doctors were looking to assess.
The trip comes as renewed discussion about Trump’s health continues online and in political circles, fueled by claims that he has appeared to drift off during high-level cabinet discussions and by repeated sightings of bruising on the backs of his hands.
Most presidents typically receive one annual physical, which makes three visits in just over a year stand out to observers.
One factor may simply be age. Trump is due to turn 80 later this year, and he has already entered the record books as the oldest president ever inaugurated in U.S. history.
Trump completed his routine physical in April 2025, before returning for what was described as a “scheduled follow-up” in October 2025, which included more advanced imaging.
At first, Trump told reporters he had received an MRI. A later interview with the Wall Street Journal clarified that he had instead undergone a CT scan focused on his heart and abdomen.
Looking back, Trump said he wished he hadn’t agreed to the scan, even though it did not reveal any problems, arguing that it fueled unnecessary speculation.
“In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,” Trump said. “I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong.”
Even if Trump is not facing an immediate health crisis, the White House previously confirmed that he has chronic venous insufficiency, a long-term condition that becomes more common with age when the valves in leg veins do not function effectively, making it harder for blood to circulate back to the heart.
The bruising seen on the back of Trump’s hands, sometimes covered with makeup, has also been addressed by his physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, who linked it to “minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.”
Trump later said he takes more aspirin than his doctors would normally advise, which could help explain the bruising, since easy bruising is a known side effect of the medication.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” he said. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”
The upcoming appointment is unlikely to quiet concerns, particularly after reports surfaced shortly before Easter claiming Trump had been hospitalized.
Trump has repeatedly denied those claims, and he has also pushed back on suggestions that he has fallen asleep during recent Oval Office meetings.
Instead, he continues to insist he is in strong health, even saying he feels no different now than he did decades ago. “I feel literally the same,” he said. “I don’t know why. It’s not because I eat the best foods.”