Trump’s Health Concerns After Shocking Diagnosis

President Donald Trump’s health is facing renewed scrutiny after Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a physician who previously served as former Vice President Dick Cheney’s cardiologist, said the president “has not looked well” at times during his second term.

Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, raised his concerns in a New York Times opinion piece published Wednesday. He acknowledged that he is not Trump’s personal physician and has only reviewed medical information that has been made public, but argued that the president’s highly public schedule makes some physical changes difficult to overlook.

Among the issues Reiner pointed to were bruising on Trump’s hands, swelling around his ankles and moments when the president has appeared to close his eyes during public appearances. Reiner argued that these observations do not necessarily reveal the full state of Trump’s health, but said they raise questions that deserve greater transparency.

The doctor also questioned the current system for evaluating presidential health. While presidents have traditionally released information from annual physical examinations, Reiner noted that doing so is a longstanding practice rather than a legal requirement.

He argued that it is a mistake not to require a formal certification that a president is physically and mentally capable of carrying out the duties of the office.

Reiner did acknowledge that not every medical detail should necessarily be made public. He pointed to his work with Cheney as an example, explaining that his medical team withheld information about a new wireless feature in the former vice president’s defibrillator because it could have presented a security risk.

However, Reiner believes there is a distinction between protecting sensitive medical information and providing the public with enough information to have confidence in a president’s ability to serve.

He pointed to legislation introduced by Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, that would create a congressional panel to evaluate the president’s health and fitness for office. Reiner suggested such a panel could examine several questions surrounding Trump’s medical care, including why 22 physicians evaluated him in June, his aspirin regimen, advanced imaging of his heart and abdomen, and repeated cognitive testing.

He also questioned whether Trump has undergone more extensive neurological or cognitive assessments that have not been publicly disclosed.

The discussion comes as Trump, who turned 80 in June, faces increasing attention over his age and health. He became the oldest person ever inaugurated as president when he began his second term at age 78.

Questions about presidential health became a major political issue during the final years of Joe Biden’s presidency, when his age and cognitive abilities received intense scrutiny. Similar questions have increasingly followed Trump during his second term.

Trump has rejected criticism and questions about his health, while White House officials have maintained that he is in good condition. White House physician Capt. Sean Barbabella said in May that Trump remained in excellent health, while Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz later described the president’s medical results in highly favorable terms.

Reiner has previously criticized aspects of Trump’s medical regimen, including his use of aspirin. His latest comments are likely to add another layer to an increasingly political debate over how much information Americans should receive about the health of the person serving as president.