Trump is ‘fully fit' and manages high cholesterol, says White House physician
The US navy captain's report was published two days after Trump underwent a routine physical. It also said he was up to date on all recommended vaccines – despite his national health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr having spent years sowing doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccination.
Trump himself has previously spread debunked claims about links between vaccines and autism often invoked by Kennedy.
Barbella's report is the most detailed information on the health of Trump, 78, since he returned to the White House in January for a second presidency.
'President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,' Barbella wrote in his report.
The report noted that Trump's high cholesterol is 'well-controlled' with two medications addressing it.
The medicines are rosuvastatin and ezetimibe, generic names of the branded drugs Crestor and Zetia. They have improved Trump's cholesterol over time.
Ideally, total cholesterol should be less than 200. At his physical in January 2018, his total cholesterol was 223. In early 2019, the reading came in at 196 and it stood at 167 in 2020. In Sunday's report, it was listed as 140.
Trump's blood pressure was 128 over 74. That is considered elevated. And people with elevated blood pressure are likely to develop high blood pressure – or hypertension – unless they take steps to control the condition.
The report also noted that Trump has scarring on his right ear, the result of a gunshot wound he suffered when a would-be assassin fired at him during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last year.
A secret service sniper killed the attacker, who fatally shot one spectator while wounding two others.
Barbella's report also references Trump's history with Covid-19. Trump was hospitalized during a serious bout with the virus in October 2020 during a run for re-election that ended in defeat to Joe Biden.
Amid questions about his age and mental acuity, Biden then dropped out of an electoral rematch with Trump in November 2024 and endorsed his vice-president, Kamala Harris, to succeed him. Trump won the popular and electoral votes against Harris to return to the presidency.
Sign up to Headlines US
Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning
after newsletter promotion
After the exam preceding the report, Trump told journalists on Air Force One: 'It went, I think, well ... Every test you can imagine, I was there for a long time, the yearly physical.
'I think I did well.'
Trump also told reporters he took a cognitive test. Barbella's report gave Trump a 30 out of 30 on what is known as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
The screening takes about 10 minutes to administer, according to information online. One version available online asks those undergoing the screening to draw a clock, repeat words, name animals and count backwards from 100 at intervals of seven, among other tasks.
Trump's resting heart rate was 62 beats per minute, in line with previous tests. A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 beats to 100 beats per minute. And generally, a lower rate implies better cardiovascular fitness.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Maine clinics hope to get blocked Medicaid funds restored as they sue Trump administration over cuts
A network of clinics that provides health care in Maine is expected to ask a judge Thursday to restore its Medicaid funding while it fights a Trump administration effort to keep federal money from going to abortion providers. President Donald Trump's policy and tax bill, known as the ' big beautiful bill,' blocked Medicaid money from flowing to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider. The parameters in the bill also stopped funding from reaching Maine Family Planning, a much smaller provider that offers health care services in one of the poorest and most rural states in the Northeast. A federal judge ruled last month that Planned Parenthood clinics around the country must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the provider wrangles with the Trump administration over efforts to defund it. Maine Family Planning filed a federal lawsuit last month seeking to restore reimbursements. Lawyers and representatives for Maine Family Planning say its 18 clinics provide vital services across the state including cervical cancer screenings, contraception and primary care to low-income residents. They also say the funding cut occurred even though Medicaid dollars are not used for its abortion services. 'Without Medicaid, MFP will be forced to stop providing all primary care for all patients — regardless of their insurance status — by the end of October,' the organization said in a statement, adding that about 8,000 patients receive family planning and primary care from the network. It also said many Maine Family Planning clinics 'provide care in very rural areas of the state where there are no other health care providers, and around 70% of their patients rely exclusively on MFP and will not see any other health care provider in a given year.' In court documents, Anne Marie Costello, deputy director for the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services, called the request to restore funding 'legally groundless' and said it 'must be firmly rejected.' 'The core of its claim asks this Court to revive an invented constitutional right to abortion — jurisprudence that the Supreme Court decisively interred — and to do so in a dispute over federal funds,' Costello said. While advocates of cutting Medicaid for abortion providers focused on Planned Parenthood, the bill did not mention it by name. Instead it cut off reimbursements for organizations that are primarily engaged in family planning services — which generally include things such as contraception, abortion and pregnancy tests — and received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. The U.S. Senate's parliamentarian rejected a 2017 effort to defund Planned Parenthood because it was written to exclude all other providers by barring payments only to groups that received more than $350 million a year in Medicaid funds. Maine Family Planning asserts in its legal challenge that the threshold was lowered to $800,000 this time around to make sure Planned Parenthood would not be the only entity affected. It is the only other organization that has come forward publicly to say its funding is at risk. Planned Parenthood's legal fight with the Trump administration over Medicaid funding is still in the court system also.
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Mother-of-seven secures place on midwifery course after returning to education
Emily Porter, 38, of Mildenhall, Suffolk, said she never thought she was 'clever enough to be a midwife'. But she said she always told her children that 'as long as you set your mind to something, you can be anything you want to be', and decided to follow her own advice. She has now secured a place to study a three-year midwifery degree at the University of Suffolk, having been to college and completed qualifications. Ms Porter, whose children are aged between two and 16, completed four functional skills qualifications and a health-related access course. She did this at the West Suffolk College learning centre in Thetford, Norfolk and at Eastern and Education Group's University and Professional Development Centre in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 'I never thought I was clever enough to be a midwife,' said Ms Porter. 'But I always say to my kids that as long as you set your mind to something, you can be anything you want to be. 'Pilots and doctors are human just like you. 'But then I wasn't following the advice I was giving to them. 'So I decided to go back to college and give it everything I've got. 'I was looking after my seven children, working in a pub a couple of nights a week and studying between 4am and 7am, before the kids got up, and at weekends. 'It was a struggle but I kept at it. I never quit.' She said her message to others is 'you can always find a way – you just need to look for it'. 'I've always been so insecure in my ability in education,' said Ms Porter. 'But when you want something so bad you go above and beyond. 'I'm lucky to have such a good support network. I have so many cheerleaders in my corner. 'I'm blown away (by the prospect of going to university). 'I might have a bit of imposter syndrome at the start, but once I'm in there, the only way is up and the only thing to do is complete the degree. 'I sometimes sit there and think about graduating. It makes me emotional.' She said she left school with grades 'that weren't very good' but decided, just after the Covid-19 pandemic, that she wanted 'to do something that means something and makes a difference'. She had an interest in becoming a midwife and researched how she could achieve this. She said the college support was 'amazing', adding: 'They have gone out of their way to help me and you are set up not to fail. 'Now I think that I can take the world on.' Ian Evans, head of personal and professional learning at the West Suffolk College centre in Thetford, said: 'Emily has been a superb student who is a total inspiration. 'We are thrilled to have been able to support her as she follows her dreams of becoming a midwife.'
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Mother-of-seven secures place on midwifery course after returning to education
Emily Porter, 38, of Mildenhall, Suffolk, said she never thought she was 'clever enough to be a midwife'. But she said she always told her children that 'as long as you set your mind to something, you can be anything you want to be', and decided to follow her own advice. She has now secured a place to study a three-year midwifery degree at the University of Suffolk, having been to college and completed qualifications. Ms Porter, whose children are aged between two and 16, completed four functional skills qualifications and a health-related access course. She did this at the West Suffolk College learning centre in Thetford, Norfolk and at Eastern and Education Group's University and Professional Development Centre in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 'I never thought I was clever enough to be a midwife,' said Ms Porter. 'But I always say to my kids that as long as you set your mind to something, you can be anything you want to be. 'Pilots and doctors are human just like you. 'But then I wasn't following the advice I was giving to them. 'So I decided to go back to college and give it everything I've got. 'I was looking after my seven children, working in a pub a couple of nights a week and studying between 4am and 7am, before the kids got up, and at weekends. 'It was a struggle but I kept at it. I never quit.' She said her message to others is 'you can always find a way – you just need to look for it'. 'I've always been so insecure in my ability in education,' said Ms Porter. 'But when you want something so bad you go above and beyond. 'I'm lucky to have such a good support network. I have so many cheerleaders in my corner. 'I'm blown away (by the prospect of going to university). 'I might have a bit of imposter syndrome at the start, but once I'm in there, the only way is up and the only thing to do is complete the degree. 'I sometimes sit there and think about graduating. It makes me emotional.' She said she left school with grades 'that weren't very good' but decided, just after the Covid-19 pandemic, that she wanted 'to do something that means something and makes a difference'. She had an interest in becoming a midwife and researched how she could achieve this. She said the college support was 'amazing', adding: 'They have gone out of their way to help me and you are set up not to fail. 'Now I think that I can take the world on.' Ian Evans, head of personal and professional learning at the West Suffolk College centre in Thetford, said: 'Emily has been a superb student who is a total inspiration. 'We are thrilled to have been able to support her as she follows her dreams of becoming a midwife.'
