Trump walks back MRI results release, instead posts letter from doctor saying he’s in ‘excellent overall health’

You’re going to want to be sitting down for this one, but Donald Trump wasn’t exactly being truthful earlier this week when he told journalists he was happy for his MRI results to be released.

Questions have lingered about the true state of the president’s health ever since he casually (possibly accidentally) revealed that in October he’d undergone an MRI at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

This is notable as an MRI isn’t a routine part of a health checkup. Doctors generally resort to them only when they have specific concerns about something that can’t be examined through non-invasive means.

Speaking to journalists on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump harrumphed about his “perfect” MRI and said he was more than happy for everyone to take a good long look at it. Now the White House has released… something that’s not his MRI.

It is instead a letter from the Physician to the President, Capt Sean P. Barbabella, who speaks of Trump’s health in glowing and effusive terms:

President Donald J. Trump's Advanced Imaging Results:

"His cardiovascular system shows excellent health… and confirms that he remains at excellent overall health."

— Capt Sean P. Barbabella, D.O.
Physician to the President pic.twitter.com/WJxdZEBUFS

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 1, 2025

Barbabella says the MRI wasn’t for any specific concern, and underlines that Trump is in “excellent health”, “very healthy”, and is “perfectly normal”.

What is going on in Trump’s guts?

Now, it’s perfectly possible the 79-year-old Trump, who doesn’t exercise, is overweight, has been looking visibly unwell, and subsists primarily on cheeseburgers, really is a picture of health. In addition, I guess we can understand why they don’t want to post the actual MRI of Trump’s guts for privacy reasons.

However, it’s also safe to say that any doctor who dared to say that Trump’s health was failing would find their career over in an instant. Declaring that Trump is medically unfit for office would paint a gigantic target on your back for every gun-toting MAGA crazy, and that’s even if that conclusion would ever be published.

In the meantime, we can only gaze at the shambling, slurring, often worryingly incoherent president, who has weird discoloration on his extremities, swollen ankles, and a face that appears to be drooping and draw our own conclusions. I’m not a doctor, but all the above is probably fine and doesn’t mean anything right? I bet he’ll live to 100!