Hal Brown's Substack (fomerly Hal Brown's Blog): What's not being asked about why Turmp wanted a brain scan?

July 1, 2025

What's not being asked about why Turmp wanted a brain scan?

RawStory (click images above for links) summarizes the portion of the Washingon Post article (subscription, about what happened after Trump was shot.

In their title RawStory used the word “bizarre.” But is this a bizarre demand for Trump? I assert that it is not.

Here is the part, excerpted from Raw Story, that I want you to consider:

In an excerpt of the upcoming book, “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” to be published on July 8, the Washington Post selected a moment-by-moment recollection of the events of the day — and what followed after Trump was rushed to a nearby hospital.
According to the book, written by journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, before the president was released by doctors he demanded a CT scan, because he wanted evidence about the state of his brain.

The book details, "In Trump’s room, he told the doctor he wanted a CT scan. The doctor asked why, and Trump said he felt like he needed it," adding that he was then escorted by Secret Service agents to be tested.
After returning, he pressed Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to obtain the scan "film," which baffled her.
"He asked to see the 'film' from the scan. The doctor said that wasn’t done anymore, and offered him a written report," the book noted before adding, Trump repeated his demand, "I want the film."
"She [ Susie Wiles] left to get a copy of the image, and while she was gone, one of the aides asked him why. 'It’s like an IQ test,' Trump said. 'They tell you that your brain is good, so I just want to have that,'" the WaPo report added.

If Trump really said the actual words referring to IQ tests “they tell you that your brain is good” this simply demonstrates that he doesn’t know what an actual IQ test does. He’s not a doctor so, to be kind, we might forgive him for thinking in terms of good and bad rather than healthy and unhealthy when it comes to interpreting a brain scan.

I can see why someone would want to have a brain scan if they were concerned that an incident might have damaged their brain. They might want one if, for example, they had a head injury. In some cases doctors would probably order scans.

I don’t think this is why Trump wanted one.

It is possible he doesn’t have any kind of brain imaging done as part of his annual physical. He might have asked the doctors to do this but they refused. It is not part of a normal annual physical, at least not any I’ve ever had. Extensive tests aren’tnan ordinary part of such exams. Insurance doesn’t cover the costs. Doctors need a reason for ordering them.

I assume Trump, being president, could have some extra tests done, like an EKG for the heart, but brain scans are only done when symptoms suggest the possiblity of problems. It is possible to self-pay for full-body MRI scans (article). A hypochondriac with $3000 to spare might have one done.

“A brain scan shows detailed images of the brain and surrounding tissues, helping to identify abnormalities like tumors, inflammation, bleeding, and structural issues. It can also assist in diagnosing conditions such as strokes, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological disorders.” (AI assist)

I suspect that Trump wanted a brain scan in the mistaken belief that this would show how high his IQ was, and would be something he could hold up and brag about. He’s always boasted about having the biggest brain. In fact, brain size has nothing to do with intelligence. Not only that, a shrinking brain often occurs with normal aging as a web search will explain (below from link)

I have nothing more than a hunch about what really happened when Trump received an image of his brain. A brain CT scan (below) is only of interest to a doctor:

It is hardly anything Trump could hold up at a press conference or have printed on a T-shirt. Then again, if the doctors told him that the scan proved how he had an Einstein level IQ I have no doubt he would have found ways to share that information bigly. He might have thought he could hold up like I’ve show in the Perchance AI image below: