What has Trump’s official medical team released about his cognitive testing and imaging, and what remains private?
Executive summary
The White House has publicly disclosed a summary memorandum from the White House physician reporting that President Trump underwent an annual physical at Walter Reed with normal findings and a perfect score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the administration has said he received advanced imaging described variably as a CT or MRI that returned normal results; those disclosures came in a physician’s memorandum and subsequent press reporting [1] [2] [3]. Missing from the public record are comprehensive medical records, full imaging reports and raw scans, detailed cognitive-test protocols and raw scores beyond the top-line MoCA number, and prior longitudinal records the president had earlier declined to release — gaps that critics say prevent independent review while supporters point to physician assurances of fitness [4] [5] [6].
1. What the official team has put on the record: a summary memo and headline results
The White House physician issued a memorandum summarizing the April 11, 2025, physical at Walter Reed that described normal cardiac, pulmonary and neurologic exams and noted specific prior studies such as a July 2024 carotid ultrasound reported as normal [1]. That memorandum and follow-up reporting also publicized that Dr. Sean Barbabella reported Trump scored 30 out of 30 on a MoCA cognitive screen, described in the White House materials and widely cited in news coverage [2] [1]. The physician’s summary listed routine findings — colonoscopy results, lab panels and vaccination status — and characterized the president as “in excellent health,” language repeated in official statements and press reporting [1] [2].
2. The cognitive testing disclosed: what was revealed, and what that actually measures
Officials have repeatedly emphasized a perfect MoCA score as evidence of preserved cognition, with press accounts noting scores of 30/30 on exams administered in 2018 and again in April 2025 per the White House physician’s report [2] [7]. Medical commentators and outlets reminded readers that the MoCA is a brief screening tool that detects obvious impairments but does not measure intelligence, judgment, decision-making or detailed executive function — limitations emphasized in coverage by CNN and others [7]. The administration’s disclosure provides the top-line MoCA number but not the test sheet, item-level answers, timing, or any supplementary neuropsychological testing that would allow deeper independent assessment [2] [7].
3. Advanced imaging the White House has acknowledged — and the confusion around it
The White House and the president have said he underwent advanced imaging at Walter Reed in October, and administration releases and later interviews described those scans as “normal,” with differing terminology in reporting: some accounts called it an MRI while the president later clarified it was a CT scan of the chest/abdomen used to evaluate heart and abdominal concerns [6] [3] [8]. Time and other outlets reported that scans of multiple body systems were read as normal, a point echoed in the physician’s summary of diagnostic testing [2] [1]. However, detailed imaging reports, radiologist reads, or the images themselves have not been publicly released in full for independent review [6] [3].
4. What remains private — and why critics say that matters
The campaign and White House have not released comprehensive medical records dating back to 2015 or the full records from recent examinations, despite prior campaign promises and sustained public calls for disclosure; outlets documented this absence and the resulting controversy [9] [5] [4]. Missing elements include the full imaging reports and scans, longitudinal cognitive testing records, full specialty consult notes, and raw laboratory datasets — omissions that advocacy groups, some physicians and political opponents say impede objective assessment of subtle or progressive conditions [4] [5]. The administration’s reliance on a physician’s summary is standard practice for presidents but differs from the more extensive candidate disclosures historically released by some presidential hopefuls, a contrast highlighted in reporting [4].
5. The politics and the limits of the available evidence
Statements emphasizing a perfect MoCA and “excellent” imaging have been used politically to rebut concerns about age and fitness, a strategy underscored in campaign communications and the president’s social posts claiming he “aced” cognitive tests [10] [7]. Independent experts and media outlets, while noting the official findings, have repeatedly cautioned that screening tests and summary memos cannot substitute for full medical records or detailed neuropsychological evaluation — a caveat that frames the limits of what the official disclosures actually prove [7] [2].
Conclusion
The official medical disclosures provide headline reassurance — a perfect MoCA score and normal-sounding imaging and physical findings documented in a White House physician memo and reported by major outlets — but stop short of releasing the underlying records, imaging, and detailed cognitive data that would enable independent medical appraisal; the result is public confidence shaped as much by politics and partial transparency as by the medical content of the memos themselves [1] [2] [4].