Trump to undergo medical check as critics question his mental fitness

NEW YORK (AFP): US President Donald Trump will undergo a formal health check on Friday amid speculation about his mental and physical suitability for the presidency.

The White House has stated that the physician, Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson will issue a public report on the exam, scheduled for January 12 at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

However, like all Americans, Trump has the right under federal law to keep health information from public disclosure.

The physical test will last around two hours and include blood and urine tests, heart checks and even questions about his sleeping habits and other idiosyncrasies.

A psychiatric exam would not be a part of Trump’s physical, White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley told reporters earlier this week.

The White House announced last month Trump’s plan to have a physical after he slurred words during a speech declaring US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the time that Trump was simply thirsty and dismissed questions about his health as “ridiculous.”

Trump is open about his unhealthy eating habits, posting a photo of himself aboard his campaign plane with a bucket of fried chicken, bragging about the chocolate cake at his Mar-a-Lago resort, and drinking Diet Coke around the West Wing.

Earlier this month, the president praised himself as “not smart, but genius… and a very stable genius at that,” following the release of a bombshell new book that called into doubt his mental health.