Jan 16, 2018

What we can expect to learn from Trump’s physical

Sam Baker

President Trump shakes hands with White House Physician Rear Admiral Dr. Ronny Jackson. Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images

The White House physician is scheduled to deliver a report today on Trump’s health. So, how much will we learn? Potentially a lot, but this won’t be the smoking gun Trump’s fiercest critics might have been hoping for.

What to watch for: The official report from the White House usually gives the public more actual information than the vague assurances we’ve gotten so far that Trump is in “excellent health.”

  • It usually includes the president’s height, weight, blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol levels, and a list of medications he’s taking.
  • All of that would be new information about Trump, and will be especially interesting given the reports about his relatively poor diet and lack of physical activity.
  • The president’s physician generally does not perform (or at least, does not release the results of) any cognitive tests.

Go deeper: Here’s Obama’s last official health report, as a guideline for making sense of today’s.

Go deeper

Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 a.m. ET: 786,228 — Total deaths: 37,820 — Total recoveries: 166,041.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in confirmed cases. Total confirmed cases as of 2 a.m. ET: 164,603 — Total deaths: 3,170— Total recoveries: 5,896.
  3. Federal government latest: The White House will extend its social distancing guidelines until April 30.
  4. State updates: Rural-state governors say testing is still inadequate, contradicting Trump — Virginia, Maryland and D.C. issue stay-at-home orders to residents, joining 28 other states.
  5. Business latest: Ford and General Electric aim to make 50,000 ventilators in 100 days.
  6. In photos: Navy hospital ship arrives in Manhattan.
  7. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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