Donald Trump is heading to hospital for the third time in 13 months, a frequency that has medical experts publicly questioning the 79-year-old’s physical condition and mental fitness for office.
The President is scheduled to visit Walter Reed Medical Center on Tuesday for a medical and dental checkup.
He previously saw doctors in April 2025 for his annual physical exam before returning in October for a ‘scheduled follow-up.’
The latest visit comes as Trump has appeared at public events with a growing number of bruises and red marks on his skin, including on his neck and hands.
The public is taking notice too. Just 40 percent of Americans believe Trump has the mental sharpness to serve as president, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll conducted in April.
That marks a seven-point drop from 47 percent in September. The questions cut deep given Trump made mental fitness central to the 2024 election, repeatedly slamming Joe Biden as lacking the capacity to stay in office.
On physical health, the numbers are even starker: 44 percent now say he is fit for the job, a sharp drop from 54 percent.
Trump, the oldest president ever inaugurated, has repeatedly claimed he is in ‘excellent health’ and feels better than he did 30 years ago.
Fresh health concerns are swirling around President Donald Trump, 79, as he heads to Walter Reed Medical Center for the third time in 13 months
The latest visit comes as the President has been seen at public events with a growing number of bruises and red marks across his skin, including on his neck and hands
The left foot and swollen ankle of President Donald Trump are pictured as he sits with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House in July 2025
A red rash appears on the President’s neck at a White House event in March
But questions have swirled as Trump’s ankles often appear swollen, bruises cover his hands, and he’s been spotted closing his eyes during meetings.
The President was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency in July last year, a common vein condition which can cause swelling in the legs and ankles.
Trump has blamed his bruised hands on a mega daily aspirin dose, which can increase the risk of bruising or bleeding, especially in older people and those taking higher doses.
He has also denied dozing off at Cabinet meetings and Oval Office events, claiming that he is merely closing his eyes while listening as others speak.
‘A lack of candor’: What the doctors are saying
Former White House doctors have also raised concerns that there may be a deeper issue with Trump’s health.
‘This White House just doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge any physical ailment, but older people develop medical issues, and the President is almost 80 years old,’ said Jonathan Reiner, the former cardiologist for Vice President Dick Cheney.
‘There just seems to be a lack of candor from the White House.’
Other former White House physicians have criticized the administration for not releasing more precise information about the President’s health.
A bruise on a hand of Donald Trump is seen during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the Oval Office, at the White House, in Washington, DC, US, August 25
‘After a decade of delusion, deceit, denial or delay from the administrations and White House physicians regarding presidential evaluations, my expectation bar is pretty low,’ said Jeffrey Kuhlman, a former physician to presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Obama.
‘I hope they are at least transparent and truthful.’
Trump has previously bragged about receiving ‘strong’ cognitive scores on all of his mental health exams, though those test results are not available for public review.
Presidents are not required to disclose their annual health records, but in recent months there has been bipartisan support among lawmakers for the creation of an independent commission to assess the President’s health.
Testosterone, Dr Oz and the Trump defense
Trump’s top health officials have pushed back on scrutiny of the President’s medical records.
‘Dr Oz looked at his medical records and said he’s got the highest testosterone level that he’s ever seen for an individual over 70 years old,’ Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said on a podcast hosted by Katie Miller.
As Trump’s medical checkups have grown more frequent, online rumors and conspiracy theories about his health have spread like wildfire, prompting swift pushback from the White House.
One flashpoint came in early April, when viral claims that Trump had been rushed to Walter Reed forced the White House to insist he was actually monitoring search-and-rescue operations in Iran.
The administration then launched a digital ‘Wall of Shame’ targeting not only the influencers behind the rumors but reporters and outlets that flagged Trump’s absence from public view.
In a statement, the White House wrote: ‘Trump was in the Oval Office and Situation Room commanding one of the most daring, complex military search-and-rescue missions in modern American history, the Radical Left revealed the true sickness rotting their souls.’