President Trump’s disclosure that he has had an MRI scan is raising new questions about the privacy concerns surrounding Trump’s health and the need for presidents to be more transparent.
Trump is the oldest person to be elected president, and his aides and allies have long portrayed him as a picture of strength and vitality.
Outside physicians initially raised questions after Trump visited Walter Reed Military Medical Center earlier this month, which the White House described as a routine follow-up visit, although it was his second in six months.
A note from his physician described Trump in “excellent overall health.”
Later, Trump revealed that he underwent an MRI and cognitive testing during a secondary physical examination.
“I had an MRI, it was perfect,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The President did not specify the reason for the MRI, and Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt did not provide any additional details afterward.
Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as White House physician to three presidents and wrote a book about his experience called “Transforming Presidential Healthcare,” said he was not surprised the 79-year-old needed a second checkup and that it is common for presidents to go to Walter Reed for advanced imaging.
“Within the scope of any process, I had the capabilities at the White House. The only thing I couldn’t do, that I had to go to Walter Reed for, is advanced imaging,” Kuhlman said.
But Kuhlman questioned the timeline of the ongoing treatment by Trump’s physician, Sean Barbella. In addition to the MRI, other tests and preventive health screenings could be done in less than 15 minutes at the White House doctor’s office.
“It’s about an eight-minute helicopter ride from the South Lawn to Walter Reed. So we know he had at least four hours available for medical care,” Kuhlman said.
“There’s a disconnect.”
It is not unusual for an administration to be hesitant about sharing a president’s personal health information, and there is no legal requirement for the administration to be transparent about it.
However, presidents throughout history have lied, cheated and covered up various illnesses, and experts say there is a tension between what a president wants to disclose and what the American people have a vested interest in knowing.
Former President Cleveland had secret surgery on a yacht to hide any reports that a cancerous tumor was removed from his mouth, and his administration and allies responded to the leak by calling it fake news and discrediting the reporter.
Former President Wilson suffered a stroke in October 1919, leaving him bedridden for the remainder of his term, while his wife essentially served as acting president.
Former President Kennedy’s administration lied about his serious health problems, including the adrenal-gland disorder Addison’s disease.
Experts say no one in the administration – let alone White House physicians – has any incentive to be truthful and transparent about the person who could fire them.
Former President Biden’s allies and aides have faced questions about whether he hid cognitive decline, and Biden’s doctor issued a good health report. Democrats ultimately pushed Biden not to run for reelection after a disastrous debate performance against Trump that they thought he would lose due to doubts about his health.
Biden has since been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Trump’s medical history has been marked with secrecy, and critics have long accused him of trying to hide true information about his health behind lies.
Jacob Appel, a psychiatry professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and presidential health historian, said the selective release of information, or filtering information through political spin, does not serve the public interest.
If there is a national security risk, or if the public does not need to know, there is no reason to reveal anything.
“I think if you’re going to release some information, you want to release enough information that the public can at least put it in context. If you’re going to say you’re getting an MRI, we should know what the MRI is for,” Appel said.
“We don’t know what the MRI was for, because the President didn’t even tell us what body part it was for [scanned] …An MRI might be something to check for a cognitive problem. This may be something to check for a heart problem. The President may have sprained his ankle and fears he has a broken bone. So it could be almost anything,” Appel said.
Longevity researcher S. at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. Jay Olshansky said it is important to understand that the public only sees what the White House wants to release. The president is entitled to protected personal health information, just like the rest of the country, he said.
“It’s up to the general public to decide who they trust and who they don’t,” said Olshansky, who wrote a 2020 analysis on the health of both Biden and Trump.
Recently, Trump faced scrutiny when photos of his swollen feet and bruised hand covered in makeup circulated online. the White Housefinally revealedHe was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, and officials said the injury was caused by frequent hand shaking.
When Trump became infected with COVID-19 in the fall of 2020, the administration initially concealed the diagnosis, and then downplayed the severity without providing further details about his treatment. Trump recovered after being given special access to an unapproved drug to fight the virus.
In 2015, Trump released a letter from his then-physician, Harold Bornstein, saying he would be the healthiest president in history. Two years later, Bornstein acknowledged that Trump had written the letter himself.
