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LetMyPeopleVote

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69. MaddowBlog-The 3 biggest problems with the results of Trump's latest medical exam
Mon Jun 1, 2026, 12:20 PM
6 hrs ago

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):

;-{) ........ Goonch Saturday #1
What's wrong with this: there would be at least one person pumping their fist in the air upon seeing this. 3Hotdogs Saturday #8
Not in a military hospital ;-{) Goonch Saturday #12
This message was self-deleted by its author 3Hotdogs Saturday #9
Please tell me he cannot still procreate... CTyankee 6 hrs ago #68
It's a lie..................... Lovie777 Saturday #2
AT the end of the day, bull$hit is still bull$hit!!!! state of stupid Saturday #3
Won't believe it. no_hypocrisy Saturday #4
With his height and girth, he's over 300 lbs. Lie on something so observably false, they'll lie/falsify anything. pat_k Saturday #43
I've been saying that FOR YEARS AZ8theist Saturday #56
Liars. ".... demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and function" Botany Saturday #5
He can't even walk from the edge of green.. thomski64 Saturday #26
The man has zero class. Botany Saturday #50
that cast iron skillet....I used to have one because my mother said I had to have one to make a decent ham steak with CTyankee 6 hrs ago #67
Who did the exam, Putin? The Wizard Saturday #6
;-{) POST PHYSICAL NIGHT SNACK Goonch Saturday #7
That's probably closer to the truth. Vinca Saturday #10
This message was self-deleted by its author Vinca Saturday #11
great picture! i like the fact that the image by the window is partially inside. and the moon is full orleans Saturday #55
I suspect they're using alternative facts to interpret 'normal'. cstanleytech Saturday #13
"Normal." Kid Berwyn Saturday #14
"Good health habits?" Dulcinea Saturday #15
238 pounds EuterpeThelo Saturday #16
My guess is that, at a minimum, he's 289 (in that case, he demanded 50 lbs off). pat_k Saturday #42
Here is a picture is a man who is actually 6'3" 238lbs, Derrick Henry of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.. RockRaven Saturday #54
I see Trump more like Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith. 6'3" and 230. Botany Saturday #63
No cognitive test results to brag about? Norrrm Saturday #17
You missed the part where he aced them. niyad Saturday #21
Doggone! I just wasn't cognizant. Failed that one. Norrrm Saturday #22
That's okay. It is still early. niyad Saturday #23
So in other words, he's a physical wreck hadEnuf Saturday #18
There is simply no way Bayard Saturday #19
So just more bullshit propaganda then. JustKay Saturday #20
Yes..I have a confession to make. My husband has left me, because my "boyfriends" Keep calling me. chouchou Saturday #24
Ha, that's no result of his exam. That's a wtitten Figarosmom Saturday #25
Well, his doctors appear to be less than ethical. travelingthrulife Saturday #30
I imagine there's a huge pay-off Figarosmom Saturday #34
Whoa, they're still going with the handshaking BS? PatSeg Saturday #38
Trump is not in excellent health. We're being lied to by his physicians. yardwork Saturday #27
We won the war too. twodogsbarking Saturday #28
Lies, lies and more lies MIButterfly Saturday #29
I do look forward to a non-elderly president some day... Mark.b2 Saturday #31
MAGA will believe it. travelingthrulife Saturday #32
Whoa, that is scary PatSeg Saturday #39
Report raises suspicion for the totally unnecessary elaboration about his ear: wishstar Saturday #33
Yeah, that was very odd PatSeg Saturday #40
Trump thinks..... SergeStorms Saturday #41
The scar on his ear is about the size of LeftInTX Yesterday #65
Trump is not in excellent health videohead5 Saturday #35
His cult will be shocked when he drops dead. City Lights Saturday #36
Has anyone ever seen him and Bigfoot at the same time? BWdem4life Saturday #37
The doctor recommended "CONTINUED weight loss" when he had gained 14 pounds! karynnj Saturday #44
Since It's from the Trump Administration MissouriDem47 Saturday #45
During his colonoscopy they removed half of The House of Representatives. twodogsbarking Saturday #46
Where did they put them? barbtries Saturday #58
Anyone who believes he was 220 lbs is delusional. louis-t Saturday #47
"good health habits" piddyprints Saturday #48
That line about having good health habits Deminpenn Saturday #51
Good thing he gained weight Blumancru Saturday #49
At his height... R0ckyRac00n Saturday #52
Yeah Sure Ya Betcha 😏 Faux pas Saturday #53
Unmitigated bullshit. barbtries Saturday #57
Imagine the Sen. Rick Scott relogic Saturday #59
The healthiest president ever to pardon a record number of violent felons! The healthiest President ever to tear down struggle4progress Saturday #60
The only diagnosis I want to see is..... KY_EnviroGuy Saturday #61
He has congestive heart failure. valleyrogue Saturday #62
I don't give a damn aboit any report LeftInTX Yesterday #64
So they got him to count past 3? mdbl Yesterday #66
MaddowBlog-The 3 biggest problems with the results of Trump's latest medical exam LetMyPeopleVote 6 hrs ago #69
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