By Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump heads to the doctor on Friday for what aides describe as a routine visit that will nonetheless draw close scrutiny of the 79-year-old U.S. president’s vitality.
Trump was the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency when he retook the White House in January, and he is the second oldest person to ever serve as the country’s president.
In office, the Republican has maintained a high-tempo schedule and a fondness for red meat. On Sunday, he plans to travel to the Middle East after brokering a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Still, Trump’s health has been a focus of attention a year after former President Joe Biden dropped his 2024 re-election bid amid questions about his fitness for the job. Trump drew a contrast with Biden during last year’s presidential campaign, portraying himself as younger and fitter.
The White House said Trump will head to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, that has long served presidents, for a “routine” yearly checkup, as well as a meeting and remarks with troops.
The visit comes just six months after he had an extensive physical examination.
“Physically, I feel very good; mentally, I feel very good,” Trump told reporters on Thursday, adding that it was a “semi-annual visit” to the doctor. “I like to check. Always early. Always be early.”
A memo released by the White House following the April exam said Trump was 6 feet, 3 inches (190 cm) tall and 224 pounds (102 kg) and had well-controlled high cholesterol. It praised both Trump’s robustness and his golf game.
Later, in July, the White House disclosed that Trump was experiencing swelling in his lower legs and bruising on his right hand, after photographs showed the president with swollen ankles and makeup covering the afflicted part of his hand.
His physician, Sean Barbabella, said in a letter released by the White House at the time that tests confirmed the leg issue was due to “chronic venous insufficiency,” a benign and common condition, especially in people over 70 years old.
The doctor said the bruising on Trump’s hand was consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and aspirin use, which Trump takes as part of a “standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”
Since then, the White House has played down concerns about Trump’s health, without detailing how the leg issue is being treated.
In 2020, during his first term in office, the White House gave conflicting and opaque assessments of Trump’s health after he contracted COVID-19.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Tom Hogue)
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