President Trump on Tuesday defended his mental fitness, saying he’s been unfairly scrutinized compared with former President Joseph R. Biden.
The White House released a memo Monday saying he received magnetic resonance imaging as a routine check to make sure he’s in good cardiovascular and abdominal health. It came after repeated questions from the press about why the president had an MRI done.
“You always find something new, like, ’Is he in good health? Biden was great, but is Trump in good health?’” Mr. Trump said to reporters during a Cabinet meeting after criticizing press coverage of the southern border.
The president said of his predecessor, “The guy didn’t do a news conference for eight months. If I go one day, I had one day where I didn’t do a news conference — ’There’s something wrong with the president.’”
He added, “You people are crazy. I’ll let you know if there’s something wrong.”
Mr. Trump said he thinks he’s “sharper than I was 25 years ago.”
His physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, said Mr. Trump’s cardiovascular imaging is “perfectly normal,” with no evidence of narrowing arteries or abnormalities.
The president’s heart chambers are normal, and his vessel walls are in good shape, the doctor added.
“Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health,” the captain wrote in a memo released by the White House.
The abdominal imaging also revealed no concerns, the memo said.
The memo was released to end speculation surrounding the president’s health. It also came after The New York Times put out an article last week about Mr. Trump’s age and how it has made a difference in his second term.
Mr. Trump, 79, is the oldest president ever elected. The report said he is seen less this administration than his last and has fewer public events on his schedule. He also has traveled less domestically than he did at this point last term.
The report noted he keeps a shorter public schedule than he used to, with most appearances falling between noon and 5 p.m.
The president slammed it as a “hit piece.”
“They know this is wrong, as is almost everything that they write about me, including election results, ALL PURPOSELY NEGATIVE,” he said on social media.
• Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this story.
