Trump says he underwent CT scan, not MRI, during October examination

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

January 1, 2026 / 1:20 PM EST


President Trump says he underwent a CT scan, rather than an MRI, during his October examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In a new interview, he also says it would have been better if he hadn't undergone the scan at all.

"In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition," the president said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Thursday. "I would have been a lot better off if they didn't, because the fact that I took it said, 'Oh gee, is something wrong?' Well, nothing's wrong."

In late October, Mr. Trump told reporters he underwent an MRI yielding "perfect" results during his examination that month. The White House said in December that "advanced imaging" was performed to check his "cardiovascular and abdominal health."

But the president told The Wall Street Journal it was actually a CT scan, and his doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, confirmed that in a statement to CBS News.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-ct-scan-not-mri-october-examination/

---

I heard this on the radio this afternoon (CBS affiliate).

So then why per this - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143575237 was a "memo" released from a doctor that makes no mention or correction about whether what was given was an MRI vs CT scan (or both)?

And this incorrect description of the purported actual test given, was NOT corrected for over a month.

REFERENCES

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143554334
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143557989
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143565502
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143575000
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143575237

[bucolic_frolic]

1. A good doctor, like a good accountant, can make things appear any way you want them to be!

Privilege on Parade.

[Roy Rolling]

46. True Butt

Humans can be subjective but scientific evidence is empirical—it links to all other valid suppositions. A CT or CAT scan checks for different things than an MRI—which is used on “soft tissues” like muscle/cartilage tears, stomach issues, etc. X-rays are the opposite, used for hard things like bones.

A CT scan looks for brain problems like dementia, traumatic/disease damage, and blood vessel issues. (I’m not a doctor)

So a CT scan measures how brain-diseased a 79-year old asshole is. As if an asshole has a brain.

[Blues Heron]

2. Someone here made the call that it was a ct scan not an mri based on the gesture tfg made describing it

Sliding back and forth not immobilized

On edit second link above, post 12

[twodogsbarking]

3. from the man who appointed rfk jr

probably had his blood pressure checked

[Hugin]

4. We've moved directly into the "Weekend at Bernie's" phase of the second imposition.

As predicted by so many for so long. He’s cloistered outside of independent scrutiny at Mar-a-Loco and everything is being scrubbed by Suzie Wiles.

While it can be argued that is within the purview of the CoS. She’s doing it for the wrong reasons. They (probably Miller, the Spawn, and others) are trying to retain their power. Which they know they will lose immediately if there were a transition to a Vance administration.

[PSPS]

5. I think geezers get these to check for an aortic aneurysm

[Vinca]

6. MRI, CT scan, whatever it was I'm sure it's the most perfect one ever taken in the history of medicine.

[flashman13]

7. So what you are telling me that he is too stupid to tell the difference. And they are just now telling us.

Me thinks this whole story is bunkum. I do know the old coot is falling apart.

[Captain Zero]

11. I think he is having frequent colonoscopies

Can't admit he's taking it up the ass.

[flashman13]

16. Ouch!

[Marcuse]

28. King Edward comes to mind.

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Tragic-Demise-Edward-II/

[efhmc]

47. Fascinating history, Thank you.

[cab67]

49. they truly got Medieval on his ass.

[Buddyzbuddy]

8. I wish a Dr. would recommend a monthly colonoscopy.

Tell him it will prolong his life.

[lastlib]

18. Good god, could you imagine......

...what would come out with the cleanout prep beverage?? EWWWwwwww!!!

[Buddyzbuddy]

21. Ooo, I'd rather not.

[C Moon]

31. There's probably a thriving garden of Big Macs in there.

[Kablooie]

37. A weekly spinal tap would be a good idea too.

[Buddyzbuddy]

40. Sounds good to me. Consider it a tribute to Rob Reiner.

[Wicked Blue]

9. He probably can't even spell MRI

[JustKay]

10. It doesn't matter. Neither of them measure insanity!

[turbinetree]

12. This is from the guy that takes aspirin that is not 81 mg for heart disease but stronger.........that is what he said...

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-wsj-he-is-taking-more-aspirin-than-doctors-recommend-2026-01-01/

you know its all about his "vanity" ...............always..........his 325 mg "vanity".............

I guess when my heart doctor told me to go with the 81 mg he didn't want me to eat cheese burgers everyday for gastronomic issues and also he didn't want me to brain bleeding............but what do I know, my doctor knows best..........

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/daily-aspirin-therapy/art-20046797

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/16761-aspirin-therapy-in-heart-disease

But this traitor doesn't know the difference between a MRI and CT scan........next up the sky is green and not blue...........this guy always and I mean always knows what is better..............because he is rotting from the inside out taking 325mg aspirin.............maybe the CT saw it...........I mean the MRI........no CT, no MRI..............

[BumRushDaShow]

13. The 81mg version (which is about 1/4 strength of a regular) used to be called "Baby Aspirin"

With the "St. Joseph's" brand being the most known.

Now they call it "low dose" aspirin.

[turbinetree]

14. Recommended by my heart doctor which I take everyday.........

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Same here

although thanks to the aches, I take more than that (but do have a bottle of the low dose).

[hadEnuf]

17. Trump is such a liar you can't believe anything he says.

And his ass worshiping minions will back him up on anything and everything that squeezes out of his anus like mouth.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

20. Nailed it!

[ificandream]

19. So how did he come to this conclusion?

Certainly not on his own. Someone had to tell him. Which only confirms that he's mentally deteriorating. So instead of making this better for him, it actually makes it worse. Dumb idiot.

[Ms. Toad]

22. Pretty much what I said right after he announced he had an MRI.

Cardiac calcification assessments (done with a CT) are all the rage now. (A number of places offer them for free, with the hope they can get you to act on whatever they find). It's a loss-leader, so to speak.

But the thing it gives is an assessment of the biological age of the arteries compared to your chronological age - which was mentioned in the initial report that just generically identified imaging.

(And the doctor's letter explaining why he had "advanced imaging" did not identify what that imaging was.)

[tonekat]

23. He could have had a colonoscopy and would lie about it. N/T

[Bluetus]

24. CT scan is significant

Last edited Fri Jan 2, 2026, 06:18 PM - Edit history (1)

For the most powerful infusions to slow Trump's Alzheimer's the protocol is that you must have a brain CT scan before the first infusion and then before the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 14th. This is required because these drugs can result in swelling or bleeding in the brain. And that is especially of concern if Trump has been self=prescribing high dose aspirin. That, alone, can raise the odds of internal bleeding anywhere, including the brain.

Trump should simply release the scans, or at least give them to an independent panel of experts to interpret for the American people. But he cannot do that, because if they were brain scans, this would practically be a confirmation that Trump is receiving infusions to try to slow his Alzheimer's Disease.

[SunSeeker]

45. Bingo. nt

[Wiz Imp]

25. "the president told The Wall Street Journal it was actually a CT scan, and his doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella,

confirmed that in a statement to CBS News."

I now know that this doctor is not to be believed. Back when it happened he said this: "President Trump's cardiovascular imaging is perfectly normal," . This was in response to a question about the MRI not a CT Scan or "imaging". Why didn't he correct it then and say there was no MRI but rather a CT Scan? Because the guy is another one of those doctors who can be bribed to say whatever Trump wants him to say.

[Marcuse]

26. Wrong procedure.

[GreenWave]

27. He passed his CT exam (Crazy Trump)

[Norrrm]

29. A cognitive test - does Donald know what kind of scan it was?

FAIL!

[azureblue]

30. who cares what he says?

He's lying any way.

[nilram]

38. Exactly. And he doesn't know.

He doesn't know the difference, and would lie about it whenever he possibly could.

[orleans]

32. they are all such fucking liars we shouldn't believe anything they say nt

[Orrex]

33. Maybe he'll just fucking die already.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

34. Because Felon-47 creates an atmosphere of fear around him that makes everyone subservient to...

...whatever lies he tells.

That should be the loudest alarm bell going off around the festering orange boil.

Nothing truthful is ever coming out of that White House--and that is really bad for the country.

[BradBo]

35. Liar.

[0rganism]

36. So, he's ignorant of which medical procedures he's undergoing at the time? This does raise further questions...

... easy follow-up questions which our darling MSM somehow manages to avoid, questions like
"Does the POTUS know where he is?"
"Does the POTUS know when he is?"
"Does the POTUS know who he is?"
"Does the POTUS really think it's appropriate to auction off paintings of Jesus from his Mar-a-Lago mansion while millions of people are about to lose access to medical care? If so, why would Americans accept such willfully-and-obviously-evil behavior on the part of their president?"

As always, when considering such circumstances, we can evaluate the MSM's objectivity by applying the simple-yet-entertaining thought experiment hypothetical question, "What if Joe Biden said or did any of this crap?"

[LilElf70]

39. Why am I

not surprised, that one of the first things out of his mouth of his new year, is a LIE. AGAIN!!!

[Iggo]

41. Took him over a month to come up with THAT bullshit?

”Sir, we can’t come up with a reasonable lie to explain the MRI.”

“Well then it wasn’t an MRI.”

“Sir, you’re a genius!”

[soldierant]

42. It was pretty obvious from the video of his conversation with the reporter

that he had no idea what he had had. Some kind of imaging, yes (a word he probably doesn't know). Bur the reporter said, "Did you have an MRI?" and he jumped on it like a life preserver thrown to a drowning man.

Max Kuhn's YouTube channel does a pretty good job of presenting what's possible and what isn't regarding his health and what he is (and isn't) displaying. He works with Dr. Davin Benjamin There was a photo recently which had been shopped to make it look like his eyes weren't focused in the same direction and they were right on it (not, IMO, that it was hard to tell it was shopped - the makeup under his lower eyelids was missing - but they went to the trouble of locating the original it was shopped from.)

[Cheezoholic]

43. Give him a bottle of Oxy's and tell him 1 a day ;) n/t

[Iggo]

44. And tell him it's only a rumor that Obama takes 3 a day, so don't even try it.

[GiqueCee]

48. The gang that couldn't shoot straight...

... can't even keep their lies straight. What a sorry bunch of inept shitheads.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

50. Maddowblog-Amid health questions, Trump changes his story in weird and unexpected ways

“I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart,” the president said. “Does that make sense?” Actually, no.

Amid health questions, Trump changes his story in weird and unexpected ways - MS NOW

apple.news/ACCZHgso8Qfi...

— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2026-01-02T15:24:34.236Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/amid-health-questions-trump-changes-his-story-in-weird-and-unexpected-ways

While it’s possible that there was no cause for concern, Trump’s unfortunate record made it difficult to give him and his team the benefit of the doubt. It was against this backdrop that the president spoke to The Wall Street Journal about these questions, and his comments advanced the story in weird and unexpected ways. From the report:

President Trump is taking more aspirin than his doctors recommend. He briefly tried wearing compression socks for his swelling ankles, but stopped because he didn’t like them. And he regrets undergoing advanced imaging because it generated scrutiny of his health.

‘In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,’ Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on his decision to get a cardiovascular and abdominal scan in October.

Broadly speaking, there are a handful of key takeaways from the reporting and interview......

The president, the Journal went on to report, “has at times eschewed the advice of his doctors and scoffed at the medical community’s widely accepted health recommendations.” This is especially true when it comes to aspirin, which he chooses to take daily and which apparently causes him to bruise easily. In fact, the president acknowledged applying makeup to his hands to obscure discoloration.

“His skin is so delicate that Pam Bondi, now his attorney general, caused his hand to bleed when she nicked him with her ring while giving him a high-five at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee,” the article noted......

Stepping back, the president’s comments were hardly out of character. Throughout his decadelong political career, Trump has repeatedly expressed his disdain for science and medical evidence on everything from the climate crisis to vaccines to Covid-19 treatments, so it stands to reason that Mr. Inject Disinfectants is going to prioritize his superstitions and baseless assumptions about “nice, thin blood” over the recommendations of those who know what they’re talking about.

The trouble is, this is the same president who believes he has the credibility and expertise needed to give the public guidance on, among other things, how much Tylenol to take and what child vaccination schedules should look like.

In other words, Trump’s comments to the Journal weren’t just important in their own right, they were also a timely reminder to the public that his judgment on matters related to health are better left ignored.

[J_William_Ryan]

51. "Trump says he underwent CT scan..."

Can you imagine what the poor medical tech had to deal with – the stench, the fouled diaper, the malodorous, putrid rolls of fat…

[BadgerKid]

52. Involuntary removal under 25th Amendment would be interesting.

I guess to avoid that, I’d make sure my line toe-ers will support me or I’d have them step down.

[Kid Berwyn]

53. Does it make a difference?