1 of 3 | President Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 10 after an exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He told reporters Monday he received an MRI at the facility. Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday that he had an MRI but didn’t specify the reason for the imaging test.
The 79-year-old president underwent the testing during an evaluation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center earlier this month. It was an unusual second exam this year for Trump.
“I did,” Trump told reporters who asked if he had an MRI during his trip to Asia. “I got an MRI. It was perfect.”
When asked the reason for the MRI, Trump declined to elaborate, CNN reported.
“I think they gave you a very conclusive — nobody has ever given you reports like I gave you.”
In July, White House press secretary Karoline Levitt told reporters that Trump’s personal physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, diagnosed him with chronic venous insufficiency. This is a disease that happens when the veins of the legs become damaged and struggle to move blood back up to the heart.
The condition causes blood to pool in the leg veins, leading to swelling in the feet and ankles, and pain, cramping, heavy feeling and ulcers in the lower legs. It’s unclear if this diagnosis was related to the MRI Trump received.
While speaking with the reporters on Air Force One, Trump declined to rule out running for a third term as president, which is illegal under the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution, which limits presidents to two terms in office.
“I would love to do it,” Trump said of the possibility, according to ABC News. “I have my best numbers ever. It’s very terrible. I have my best numbers.
“Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me. All I can tell you is that we have a great, a great group of people, which [Democrats] don’t.”
Trump said that if the results of his health tests were negative, he “wouldn’t run.”
“And if I didn’t think [the testing] was going to be good, either, I would let you know negatively. I wouldn’t run. I’d do something. But the doctor said some of the best reports for the age, some of the best reports they’ve ever seen,” he said.
“It was perfect.”
