US President Donald Trump.Image: keystone
Before Donald Trump’s next hospital visit, criticism from independent doctors about the White House’s lack of transparency is becoming louder. The US government headquarters rejects the allegations and publicly denounces critical voices.
May 25, 2026, 9:13 p.mMay 25, 2026, 9:43 p.m
US President Donald Trump will visit the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday for the third time in 13 months. In its statement, the White House declared the upcoming examination at the medical facility for sitting US presidents to be a routine inspection.
A similar one in April 2025 was only declared to be an X-ray examination months later: to check the heart and blood vessels. Trump, who is nearly 80 years old, is increasingly facing the same questions about his fitness as his predecessor, Joe Biden. Independent doctors are calling for more transparency.
Trump’s swollen ankle.Image: keystone
Blue hands, thick legs and cognitive endurance
“This White House doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge physical suffering, but older people develop medical problems and the president is almost 80 years old,” says Dr. Jonathan Reiner told the US daily newspaper Washington Post. He was former Vice President Dick Cheney’s cardiologist.
The White House attributed the hematomas on Trump’s hands to numerous handshakes and the daily intake of aspirin. For Reiner, this explanation is also not credible. “We’ve seen a similar bruise on his left hand before, and I doubt he shakes hands with his left hand,” he adds.
Trump’s bandaged right hand.Image: AP
He also has concerns about the president’s swollen legs. These could be a warning sign of dangerous heart failure. They were noticed as early as July 2025 and, after examinations, the cause was chronic venous insufficiency – a blood stasis. There was nothing about this in a medical report from April 2025, Reiner points out and wonders whether the diagnosis was overlooked or not disclosed.
Doubts about his suitability are also growing among the population. A survey by the “Washington Post”, the news channel “ABC News” and the market and opinion research institute “Ipsos” from April 2026 illustrates this trend: 40 percent of those surveyed still believe he has the mental clarity necessary to carry out his duties – in September 2025 it was still 47 percent. 44 percent believe he is physically fit enough. Last year, 54 percent of participants trusted Trump’s body.
“wall of shame”
Trump often likes to refer to the supposedly error-free results of the “Montreal Cognitive Assessment”. A medical test used to detect early signs of dementia or decline in mental ability.
Jeffrey Kuhlman, who worked as a doctor for former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama, does not trust the US President’s statements. In the Washington Post he calls for a more comprehensive review of Trump’s executive ability. “We know that 80-year-olds experience a decline in memory, logical thinking, processing speed and spatial imagination.”
The US government headquarters is reacting increasingly aggressively to speculation about Trump’s well-being. A digital “wall of shame” was set up to criticize social media accounts and media outlets that report on the president’s unexplained absences. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt justified this as a defense against disinformation.