President Donald Trump is set to undergo a “yearly check-up” on Friday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center ahead of a possible trip to the Middle East, his second such medical examination in six months.
In a statement released Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump would be at Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday, where he will “visit” with service members and have a “planned meeting.”
“While there, President Trump will stop by for his routine yearly check-up,” Leavitt said. “He will then return to the White House. President Trump is considering going to the Middle East shortly thereafter.”
Trump’s trip to the Middle East comes amid a recent peace plan between Israel and Hamas, and continuing negotiations between the two. Trump said he would “most likely” travel to Egypt to take part in the tentative peace process.
“I’ll be going to Egypt, most likely, that’s where everybody is gathered right now, and we appreciate that very much,” Trump said Wednesday. “But I’ll be making the rounds, as the expression goes.”
In April, Trump underwent a yearly physical exam at Walter Reed with White House physician Capt. Sean Barbella, who declared the president to be in “excellent health.”
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“President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health,” Barbella wrote in a White House memo, “and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.” The memo listed a cholesterol drug Trump was taking, and indicated he was in the overweight category.
Rumors about the president’s health have dogged him since returning to office, including continuing speculation regarding bruises on his hands, which first came to light in February.
