𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Donald Trump is displaying bruises across his hands. The President occasionally muddles his words and has been spotted apparently nodding off during meetings. His voice sometimes sounds weary and he’s been seen having difficulty walking in a straight line. Yet his failure to recall one health-related term that tragically struck a close family member has raised concerns from experts this week.

The catalogue of incidents from Trump’s first year back at the White House goes some way to explaining why politicians, the media, and significant numbers of voters are scrutinising his physical and mental wellbeing more closely.

Trump turns 80 in June, making him America’s oldest ever president at this stage of a term – Joe Biden was five months younger when he took office. Following months of public worry about Biden’s advanced years and an abundance of over-70s leaders in both major parties, Americans are more alert than ever to the dangers posed by elderly commanders-in-chief.

Discussing his father Fred Trump who passed away in 1999 aged 93 with reporters, the President described him as having a “heart that couldn’t be stopped” with almost no health conditions to speak of throughout his long life.

“He had one problem,” Trump said.

“At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting, what do they call it?”

He pointed to his forehead and looked to his press secretary for the word that escaped him.

“Alzheimer’s,” Leavitt said.

“Like an Alzheimer’s thing,” Trump said. “Well, I don’t have it.”

“Is it something you think about at all?” I asked.

“No, I don’t think about it at all. You know why?” he said in the interview with New York Magazine.

“Because whatever it is, my attitude is whatever.”

White House aides defend president’s fitness

American presidents rank among the planet’s most intensely monitored individuals. Yet this hasn’t prevented them and their supporters from being evasive about their medical status.

Trump has refused to disclose extensive details about his health. This hasn’t deterred White House staff from testifying to his energy levels and mental acuity. Trump’s press secretary says his closed eyes during meetings indicate “actively listening” and has blamed the bruising on shaking too many hands.

However, Trump says he takes more aspirin than doctors recommend, which may be causing it.

One physician’s assistant claims Trump is healthier than Barack Obama, who left the White House at 55. Stephen Miller, an anti-immigration aide, calls Trump “superhuman.”

Michelle Putnam, the head of UMass Boston’s Gerontology Institute said, “For most older adults, what you’re looking for is change.”

Trump’s working hours are more limited compared to his initial presidency, and he staged fewer campaign rallies in 2024 than in 2016, which Putnam suggested was a reasonable timeframe to assess potential decline.

Majority of voters say Trump not too old

Problems with memory and bodily alterations can signal deterioration, though the ageing process impacts individuals differently.

Lack of exercise, inadequate sleep, and a poor diet similar to Trump’s typically increase the likelihood of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other conditions that become more prevalent over time. Yet Trump — like Biden — doesn’t drink or smoke and has excellent medical care, which correlates with better health.

Mary Trump, Trump’s niece and a longtime critic, says he sometimes has her ailing grandfather’s “deer-in-the-headlights look.” But that isn’t a diagnosis, and medical professionals have long shied away from diagnosing politicians from afar.

Without a major medical emergency, what counts may be what the American public witnesses.

Biden’s 2024 debate performance reinforced longstanding concerns. But according to a New York Times poll, 58 percent of voters say Trump isn’t too old to be an effective president — the same share who said so before the last election. And in polarized times, it can be easy to ignore the evidence of one’s own eyes.