Americans Want to Force Presidents to Release Health Records After Trump’s Bonkers Golf Brag Memo. A poll also found that most voters want age limits on elected officials.

A vast majority of Americans believe the president should be legally required to make his or her medical records public, according to a new poll. An Axios poll released Friday found that 74% of respondents want sitting presidents to make their medical records public, while 81% say sitting presidents should also undergo cognitive and medical testing, and the results should be made public. About three-quarters of those surveyed believe politicians are not honest with the public about their health, while nearly eight in ten Americans also believe age limits should be imposed on presidents, members of Congress, and Supreme Court justices.

The age of leaders has come under scrutiny under both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump, who turned 79 this weekend, is the oldest president in American history.

Meanwhile, Biden’s decline has overshadowed his reelection campaign and continues to dominate headlines. In April, the White House released a memo from Trump’s physician, Sean Barbabella, stating that the president was in excellent physical and mental health. The memo also noted, oddly, his “repeated golf tournament victories.” It also claimed he was 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 220 pounds.

Axios-Ipsos poll: Americans want to force presidents to share health records

Share of U.S. adults who say they agree or disagree with the following statements

According to the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index, eight in ten Americans want mandatory, public cognitive and medical exams for U.S. presidents, as well as an age limit on the presidency.

• About three in four Americans believe politicians are dishonest about their health and that presidents should be legally required to disclose their medical records to the public.

Importance: The issue of the president’s health has become more urgent given the declining popularity of Joe Biden, who was 82 when he left office, and the return of Donald Trump, who, at 79, was the oldest president in U.S. history.

• Trump rarely provides information about his medical records. His staff released a memo after his April physical declaring him to be in “excellent health,” but political opponents, such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, have questioned his mental health and fitness for office.

Biden’s White House physician claimed Biden was in excellent physical shape for a man his age. But during his presidency, Biden’s team attempted to conceal his declining health.

• Biden’s recent cancer diagnosis drew attention to the lack of a legal requirement for public officials to disclose their health status.

What we’re watching: Democrats surveyed appear slightly more supportive of such disclosures than Republicans; and, overall, Americans are less likely to require former presidents to disclose their medical records than current presidents.

What they’re saying: “The American public is sending a very clear signal that they don’t trust the information they’re receiving, that it’s insufficient, and that public officials should be held to greater transparency regarding their health,” said Mallory Newall, vice president of U.S. public affairs at Ipsos.

• “Americans want more transparency about the health of their elected officials. They’re counting on the younger generation to serve them.”

Overview: The survey shows that the balance between public officials’ medical confidentiality and the public’s right to know has shifted sharply toward greater transparency.

• The survey found strong bipartisan support for greater transparency about public officials’ health and for setting a maximum age for appointments to public office and for Supreme Court justices. (Respondents were not asked about this maximum age.)

By the numbers: 72% of Americans strongly or somewhat disagree that most elected officials are honest with the American public about their health.

• 74% generally agree that every sitting president should be legally required to share their medical records.
• Public opinion is more divided on the health of former presidents: only 40% approve of this requirement, compared to 57% who disagree.
• About 8 in 10 Americans generally support age limits for Supreme Court justices and members of Congress, as well as for presidents.

More Democrats (83%) support a legal requirement for a sitting president to share their medical records than Republicans (70%) or independents (72%).

• The same is true for age limits, mandatory cognitive screening, and screening tests whose results can be shared. But in each case, more than three-quarters of Republicans, Democrats, and independents support these requirements.

Between the lines: government officials are not subject to any legal standards for disclosing their health status.

• With the aging of Americans and the overall increase in life expectancy, questions arise about the fitness for service and ability to critically assess aging politicians.

• This is partly due to a relentless media cycle that keeps many of them in the spotlight and potentially exposes their weaknesses. However, the norms around discussing their health are primarily rooted in traditions such as the annual presidential physical.

• Former White House physician Jeffrey Coleman has advocated for a battery of cognitive tests, rather than a screening exam, to assess presidents’ memory, language, and problem-solving skills.

Methodology: This survey was conducted by Ipsos KnowledgePanel® between June 13 and 16, 2025. It is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,104 adults aged 18 and older from the general population.

• The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.3 percentage points (95% confidence level) for results based on the entire adult sample.