President Donald Trump revealed Monday that he underwent an MRI during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center earlier this month.
Trump, 79, did not reveal the purpose of the MRI, saying only that it was “perfect.”
The White House had previously said that only Trump underwent “advanced imaging” during the evaluation.
“I gave them the full results,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Japan when asked if he had received one that day. “We had an MRI, an MRI, and the machine, you know, everything, and it was perfect.”
When asked for additional details, Trump said “you can ask the doctors,” adding, “I think they gave you a very conclusive answer: No one has ever given you reports like I gave you, and if I didn’t think it was going to be good, I would let you know negatively, I wouldn’t show up, I would do something. But the doctors gave some of the best reports for their age, some of the best reports they’ve ever seen.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The White House described the visit, which came after Trump’s annual physical in April, as a “follow-up evaluation” at the time and released a memo from the president’s doctor, Sean Barbabella.
The president’s visit was “part of his ongoing health maintenance plan and included advanced imaging, laboratory testing, and preventative health evaluations performed by a multidisciplinary team of specialists,” the doctor wrote. The summary also said Trump received flu and Covid vaccines, but much of the health information was vague and did not mention that the president had received an MRI specifically or the reason for the scan.
The doctor concluded that Trump is in “exceptional health and shows strong cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological and physical performance.”
Trump’s health has come under scrutiny in recent months after he was seen with a bruise on the back of his right hand, often covered in makeup, and swelling in his lower legs. Authorities said in February that the bruise was caused by the president “working constantly and holding hands all day, every day.”
Trump’s doctor said in July that the president takes aspirin as part of a “cardiovascular prevention regimen” and that bruising is a side effect.
The swelling in the president’s legs was caused by “chronic venous insufficiency,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time. He called it a “benign” condition common in older men and added that tests found no evidence of a serious condition, such as deep vein thrombosis.
Trump’s physical examination in April found that the results of his heart, lung, eye, hearing and abdominal exams were normal, and laboratory tests appeared within typical ranges for blood counts, kidney, liver and thyroid tests, although his blood pressure was slightly elevated and he remained overweight.
