The White House is refusing to say when Donald Trump was last given a cognitive test because his last medical examination did not mention it.
Officials also declined to comment further on an MRI scan the president disclosed to him this month, which has reignited speculation about the 79-year-old’s health.
Although Trump insists he is in great shape, new questions arose Monday when he failed to note that the Oct. 10 His most recent check-up at Walter Reed Medical Center included a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, which can show symptoms related to conditions such as stroke, brain problems or tumors.
Donald Trump steps off Air Force One as he arrives at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan in 2025. October 27 / Takashi Aoyama / Getty Images
“I had an MRI. It was perfect,” Trump said in response to a question from reporters on Air Force One.
“I gave you all the results. We had an MRI and the machine, you know, everything was perfect,” he added.
But the report from White House physician Sean Barbabella simply said Trump underwent “advanced imaging” (which may also include CT scans and other tests) and didn’t actually disclose that the president had an MRI, let alone why it was done or what it found.
Another glaring omission was also no mention of whether Trump took a cognitive test as part of his first medical in April.
After the April test, Barbabella provided three pages of results detailing everything from Trump’s lab tests and the medications he was taking to his vital statistics and all the physicals he had.
Among them was the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a 30-point test that screens for cognitive impairment.
“A thorough neurological examination revealed no abnormalities in his mental status, cranial nerves, motor and sensory function, reflexes, gait and balance,” the statement said. “Cognitive function assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was normal at 30 out of 30.
The White House released the memo after President Donald Trump visited Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month. / The White House
But the announcement of Mr. Trump’s latest visit came with a five-paragraph summary that made no reference to the cognitive test. The White House did not respond to the Daily Beast’s question about whether Trump has one.
Trump mentioned cognitive tests on Monday and criticized Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett as people of “low IQ” who would not benefit from such tests.
“The first questions are simple: tiger, elephant, giraffe, you know,” he explained.
“When you get to about five or six, and then when you get to 10, 20 and 25, they couldn’t answer any of those questions.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett has often been criticized by Trump as a
However, the president did not provide specific information about when exactly he last took the cognitive test or his most recent score.
Trump’s health evasion is not unusual for presidents: Woodrow Wilson, for example, hid details of his strokes, John F. Kennedy did not disclose his back problems, and Joe Biden famously concealed the extent of his cognitive decline.
However, at that time, D. Trump’s visit on October 10 raised eyebrows as it was his second in six months and came amid speculation about his badly bruised hands and swollen ankles.
His latest MRI revelation has raised further questions, with renowned cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Reiner saying he believes the president may have quietly had an MRI because he was showing symptoms related to a neurological problem.
“They’re usually driven by symptoms,” Reiner told CNN.
“It could be neurological symptoms that would require an MRI. It could be back pain that would require an MRI. It could be a heart problem that would require an MRI. And for those reasons, the public really needs to be told why the president had an examination, what consultants he saw and what the results were?”
Reiner also added that an MRI “is never part of a routine evaluation, whether you’re the president of the United States or just a civilian.”
Despite speculation, on October 10 a report on Trump’s visit to Walter Reed, however, said he was in “excellent general health,” that his heart age was 14 years younger than his age of 79, and that comprehensive lab tests performed during the visit were “exceptional.”
“No one has ever given you a report like I have,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “The doctor said (they were) some of the best reports for that age that they had ever seen.