Trump to undergo annual physical at Walter Reed amid health scrutiny
Trump will return to Walter Reed on May 26 for his annual physical, as questions over the 79-year-old president’s health and transparency continue to sharpen.
President Donald Trump will undergo his annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26, a routine checkup that has taken on outsized political weight as questions about his health keep resurfacing. The White House said the visit will include annual dental and medical assessments as part of “regular preventive healthcare,” and that Trump will also spend time with service members and staff at the Bethesda, Maryland, facility.
The scrutiny reflects both Trump’s age and the amount of information the White House has chosen to share. Trump is 79 and turns 80 next month. He is the oldest person ever inaugurated as president and the second-oldest person ever to serve in the office, a fact that has kept his fitness for office under constant review in Washington. His annual physical will be his fourth publicized visit to medical experts since returning to office.
The White House has already disclosed more about Trump’s health than many presidents typically see made public. In October 2025, Trump said he had a CT scan at Walter Reed to check for cardiovascular issues and said it showed no abnormalities. He later said he regretted revealing the scan because it set off speculation about his condition. After that evaluation, White House physician Sean Barbabella said Trump remained in “exceptional health” and said his cardiac age was about 14 years younger than his chronological age.
That October visit also included preventive screenings and immunizations, among them an annual flu shot and an updated COVID-19 booster. Trump spent hours at Walter Reed meeting troops, underscoring the political choreography that now surrounds even routine presidential care. Fresh attention has also come from recent photographs showing bruising or discoloration on Trump’s hands, which have added another layer of public scrutiny to what would ordinarily be a low-profile appointment.
For voters, the broader issue is not just whether Trump is fit for another term, but how much the public can reasonably expect to know about a sitting president’s health. The White House is presenting the May 26 visit as ordinary preventive care, but the repeated disclosures, the age factor and the continuing speculation show how presidential medicine has become a test of transparency as much as a matter of diagnosis.
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