Cardiologist who treated Cheney asks Trump health questions
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Dick Cheney’s longtime cardiologist and a CNN medical analyst, says President Trump has “not looked well” at times over the past year. Writing in The New York Times, he argued Americans have been “kept in the dark too long” and deserve clearer health answers.
Key Takeaways
- Reiner, Cheney’s former cardiologist, urged fuller White House disclosure in a Times opinion essay.
- He cited visible bruising, ankle swelling, and apparent public dozing—without examining Trump himself.
- He listed seven questions, including why 22 specialists took part in the latest exam.
- He challenged the chronic venous insufficiency explanation for Trump’s swollen ankles.
- Reiner later discussed the same concerns on CNN’s The Lead.
What did Cheney’s cardiologist say about Trump’s health?
In a New York Times guest opinion piece covered widely this week, Reiner wrote that White House reassurances have not matched what he has observed. “Despite reassurances from the White House to the contrary, at times over the past year, the president has not looked well,” he said.
“We have been kept in the dark too long,” Reiner added, calling for the administration to be more forthcoming. He stressed he has not personally examined President Donald Trump.
A Yahoo News report framed his essay as a transparency demand rather than a bedside diagnosis.
Which visible signs prompted his seven urgent questions?
Reiner argued that “a variety of physical ailments are easy to see” in recent photos. He pointed to bruises on Trump’s hands, swollen ankles—sometimes dubbed “cankles”—and a tendency to seemingly doze off in public.
He also noted advanced imaging performed for unclear reasons, writing that the public is again left to wonder whether the nation’s leader is OK. Among his seven questions: why the 80-year-old president saw 22 doctors and specialists during his most recent examination, and why cognitive tests have been given so frequently.
He further asked about an extremely high dose of aspirin, the president’s “struggle to stay awake,” and his medications.
Why does the ankle-swelling explanation raise red flags?
The White House has said Trump’s swollen ankles stem from chronic venous insufficiency, in which leaky valves cause blood to pool in the legs. Reiner said that diagnosis followed a prior doctor visit that made no mention of the condition.
“If that’s true, his swelling would be by definition acute, not chronic,” he wrote. Acute leg swelling, he warned, can signal more consequential problems such as heart or kidney disease. “What’s the reason for this discrepancy?”
Will the White House face more pressure to explain?
Reiner discussed the controversy again on CNN the same day, as the network aired a segment on Dick Cheney’s doctor questioning secrecy around Trump’s health. The White House has offered reassurances; Reiner’s essay insists those answers remain incomplete.
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