Amid growing concerns about President Donald Trump‘s health, a new profile from New York Magazine seeks to get to the bottom of the 79-year-old’s fitness for the office.
The 5,000-word feature offers interesting insights into the second term of the oldest person ever elected president, who will be 82 at the end of his term.
In an effort to portray himself in “perfect health,” President Trump brought in two doctors, Captain Sean Barbabella, his lead physician, and Colonel James Jones, a physician’s assistant, for the on-the-record chat with Washington Correspondent Ben Terris. Both doctors work at Walter Reed Hospital, which has treated several presidents since 1940.
Ironically, Trump told the New York Magazine, “I don’t know them, they’re not my best friends,” adding, “They’re respected doctors…they happen to be taking care of me for anything — but I don’t need any taking care of because I’m in perfect health.”
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump’s health has been a major focus as he has displayed signs of decline, including falling asleep during live news conferences, misspeaking, and even more physical signs like bruising on his hands and swelling on his feet. In October 2025, Trump revealed he underwent a mysterious MRI, but was unable to say what part of his body had undergone scans. Dr. Jones explained in the article that Trump actually underwent an “MRI-like” computerized tomography exam of his chest and his abdomen.
Trump, who vociferously ridiculed his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, over his aging and called into question his fitness for office, told the magazine, “I think the American people should know that the president is healthy so you don’t get a guy like the last one.”
But it was Trump’s other predecessor, former President Barack Obama, who elicited the most peculiar part of the magazine feature on Trump’s health.
When Dr. Jones, who served as a medical leader in the White House from 2009 to 2018, was asked who is healthier, Obama or Trump, the doctor, seemingly under pressure from Trump, replied, “President Trump.” Terris writes that before Jones answered the question, the president “stared across the desk, making eye contact with Jones.”
“Write that,” said Trump.
President Obama, who regularly worked out and famously played basketball on the White House grounds, left office in 2017 at the age of 55.
Terris also writes that President Trump was unable to recall his father’s diagnosis, to which White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt interjected to help him: “Alzheimer’s.”
“Like an Alzheimer’s thing. Well, I don’t have it,” said Trump.
The New York Magazine profile also details Trump’s diet, which includes meat, no vegetables, and a “ton” of candy, his lack of exercise, and little sleep.
Robert F. Kennedy, Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, infamously said of Trump’s “unhinged” diet: “I don’t know how he’s alive.”
