The results of Donald Trump’s new medical exam raise serious questions

Since 1980, Dr. Harold N. Borstein, Donald Trump's physician, published a letter in 2015 about the presidential candidate's health. The letter read, in part, "If Mr. Trump is elected, I can state unequivocally that he will be the healthiest person ever elected to the presidency," he said via NPR. But in 2018, Dr. Borstein told CNN that he didn't write the letter himself but that Trump dictated it to him. Trump is currently running for president again and has released another letter from his physician. He has stopped using Dr. Boorstein and has begun seeing Bruce Aronwald, MD, of Morristown, New Jersey. Aronwald's letter is less hyperbolized than Boorstein's 2015 letter but still raises some questions. In particular, one might wonder why Trump's attending physician is so far away from his primary residence of Mar-a-Lago. Since leaving the White House, Trump has resided permanently in Florida, but since 2021, his physician has been Dr. Aronwald, who practices a half-dozen states away. That's a long way for doctor visits, although it's only a 20-minute drive from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Donald Trump released a letter on Joe Biden's birthday. The question we know the answer to is why Donald Trump published a letter about his health care exactly when he did. It's unlikely that Trump posted it on Joe Biden's 81st birthday, especially considering that Trump's last physical, according to the letter, is due in September 2023. The letter was also published a day after Republican presidential contender Ron DeSantis told CNN that being president is "not for someone over 80." It begs the question of why Trump posted the letter in the first place, which conservative CNN commentator S.E. Kapp called it "propaganda," Mediaite writes. The letter does not include Trump's health numbers or test results, though they are described as "within normal limits." Nevertheless, it supports some of Trump's famous campaign talking points - that he is better physically and mentally prepared to be president than President Joe Biden. In terms of mental health, Aronwald notes that Trump's "cognitive exams were exceptional." Trump has bragged about his ability to pass cognitive tests before; as president, he successfully passed a screening test for possible dementia. In addition, while Trump has often mocked Biden for verbal blunders the latter has made over the years, Trump made several gaffes during the campaign, such as confusing Sioux Falls, Iowa, with Sioux City, South Dakota. This letter may be a counterargument to help reassure his voters. Donald Trump has lost nearly 30 pounds of weight. Like the 2015 letter in which Donald Trump reported that he had lost 15 pounds the previous year, the 2023 letter also notes Trump's weight loss. The letter does not provide a specific figure, but we can make an educated guess as to how much weight we think Trump has lost. His weight as president in 2020 was 244 pounds, according to his physical exam. In August 2023, when Trump surrendered to the Fulton County jail for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia, he listed his weight as 215 pounds. In other words, Trump has lost nearly 30 pounds since leaving the White House. According to Aronwald's letter, the weight loss was "due to an improved diet and consistent daily exercise while maintaining a rigorous schedule." Exactly what kind of changes we're talking about needs to be specified. Trump's legendary love of fast food, mainly McDonald's, is legendary. On physical activity, Trump told The New York Times in 2015 that speaking at his campaign rallies was a form of physical activity. He is also known to play golf, although he often uses a golf cart rather than walking. According to The New Yorker, Trump also doesn't see the point of intense physical activity, as he subscribes to the philosophy that the body is like a battery that can run off a set amount of energy through exercise. As a general rule, the more one looks at the letter, the more questions still need to be answered.