Dr. Jonathan Reiner has raised several concerns regarding the health of former President Donald Trump, suggesting that there is a lack of transparency from the White House about his physical condition. The 79-year-old former president recently underwent a medical examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, May 26. Dr. Reiner, who is a Professor of Medicine and Surgery at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, pointed out some unusual aspects of the examination schedule and noted visible symptoms that require further medical explanation.
“If they repeat scans from the last year, that means they’re surveilling something — and that’s never been disclosed to us,” Reiner, who is also the Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at The George Washington University Hospital, told CNN.
Reiner, who previously served as the cardiologist for late Vice President Dick Cheney, observed that Trump referred to his latest visit as a “6-month physical.” He noted that this marks a significant shift from the traditional yearly presidential physical to a semi-annual schedule, likely due to Trump’s advancing age.
“One other interesting thing I noted was that when the president — when he was leaving Walter Reed, posted on social media that he had a perfect physical, called it his ‘6-month physical,’” Reiner said. “So, I guess, you know, what we’re changing now from is a routine yearly physical for a president to — I guess, perhaps as a nod to his age—it looks like this president will undergo a six-month cycle for evaluations.”
Reiner highlighted Trump’s repeated tendency to fall asleep during daytime meetings. He classified this as severe daytime somnolence, stating that nodding off in the Oval Office while people are actively speaking to him is “distinctly abnormal” and carries elevated risks for cognitive decline and cardiovascular issues.
“The president has severe daytime somnolence. He falls asleep very often,” Reiner said. “He’s fallen asleep in the Oval Office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the Cabinet room, and I was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances.”
“Chronic insomnia is a severe illness,” he added. “It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, a decrease in cognitive effects in older people.”
Reiner questioned the pronounced bruising on the back of Trump’s hands. He explained that while the White House attributes this to frequent handshakes, it is a classic symptom of an elderly person taking undisclosed blood thinners for issues like atrial fibrillation or past blood clots.
The White House previously acknowledged that Trump’s leg swelling is due to chronic venous insufficiency. However, Reiner flagged that if this condition developed suddenly after omitted mentions in earlier 2025 medical reports, it could point to acute edema, which warrants evaluation for congestive heart failure.
Reiner expressed ongoing skepticism regarding why Trump underwent an unannounced MRI and CT scans in late 2025. He noted that the White House’s explanation of “preventative testing” makes little medical sense, as patients are typically only sent to Walter Reed for specialized imaging if they are showing active, red-flag symptoms.
The White House and presidential physician Dr. Sean Barbabella have strongly pushed back against Reiner’s commentary, characterizing him as a partisan critic.
Administration spokespeople maintain that Trump is in “excellent overall health.” Trump himself dismissed concerns about his daytime sleepiness, claiming he is simply “resting his eyes” or caught mid-blink by photographers.
While no official White House statement has emerged about Tuesday’s physical, Dr. Reiner said it shouldn’t take long if all is as excellent as they allege.
“What’s also interesting is that in many of these yearly physical exams, much of this evaluation is done in advance of the day when the president actually goes to Walter Reed, so we should have a readout about this pretty soon,” he added. “Often, his labs are pre-tested, so the White House often can generate a readout very quickly.”
