Donald Trump | |
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Born | June 14, 1946 |
Father | Fred Trump, Sr. (Alzheimer's) |
Risk factors: obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, family history of dementia |
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Business and personal 45th President of the United States Tenure Impeachments Prosecutions Interactions involving Russia |
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At 78 years, 2 months and 27 days of age, Donald Trump is by far the oldest and most obese major-party presidential nominee in history, after President Joe Biden withdrew from contention prior to becoming the nominee of his own party in the 2024 United States presidential election.[1] If elected, by the end of his term he would become the oldest person ever to hold the office, sparking renewed discussion of his physical fitness to assume the presidency.[1][2][3] Since the early days of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, his extreme obesity and mental health have been a subject of public debate. Trump was seventy years old when he first took office, surpassing Ronald Reagan as the oldest person to assume the presidency to that date.[4] During Trump's presidency, comments on his very old age, extreme weight, lifestyle and history of heart disease have raised questions about his physical health.[5] In addition, numerous public figures, media sources, and mental health professionals have speculated that Donald Trump may have mental health impairments, ranging from narcissistic personality disorder to some form of dementia, which runs in his family.
In a 2022 interview, Trump "floated the possibility that his health could become an important factor in weighing whether he would run again in 2024".[6]
During the 2024 United States presidential election, Nikki Haley "was an early observer of the public's dissatisfaction with both candidates' ages, going so far as to predict that fortune would favor the party that first dropped their elderly candidate."[7] Polling has shown a majority of Americans worry about whether he is fit to serve another 4 years.[8][9]
Trump has been criticized for his secrecy and lack of transparency around his medical records and health.[6][5]
A February 2024 poll finding that Biden's age and health were major or moderate concerns for 86% of voters generally also found that 59% similarly thought Trump was too old to hold the office.[10]
A July 2024 poll, taken shortly after the first presidential debate, found that 60% of voters saw Trump as too old for a second term.[9] This represented a steady and constant increase in voters polled by this pollster sharing this concern, and paralleled the progression of the larger number of voters who had the same concern about Biden.[9] An August 2024 Morning Consult poll found that the number of respondents who thought Trump was too old to run jumped by seven percent, to 51%, from their previous poll once Trump's opponent changed from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris, and the number of respondents who thought Trump was in good health correspondingly fell by six percent.[11][12] The poll further reported that nearly 80% of respondents "were unsure he'd be up for serving a full second term".[11] A Marquette University poll released the same day reported that 57% of respondents felt that Trump was too old.[13]
A number of incidents have contributed to the trend in public opinion. In a July 4, 2019, speech, Trump said that during the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army "took over the airports" from the British.[14] In October 2023, Trump referred to Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán as "the leader of Turkey", and said that Orbán shares a border with Russia, which neither Turkey nor Hungary do.[15] During the course of the 2024 primary campaign, it was noted that Trump confused Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi and "repeatedly said he is running against Barack Obama, and not Biden, and that he feared that the nation may soon enter World War II, a conflict that has been over for nearly 80 years".[16]
In June 2024, while bragging about his performance on a cognitive test administered in 2018, Trump "confused the name of his former White House physician" who had administered that test.[17] That same month, he said that his longtime acquaintance Joan Rivers had told him that she had voted for him in the 2016 election, though Rivers had died in September 2014.[18] Following an August 2024 interview, media reports indicated that Trump had acquired a pronounced lisp, prompting further public speculation about his health.[19][20] Trump released a statement the following day explaining that this was caused by technical issues with the broadcast.[21]
As early as November 2015, Vanity Fair reported the opinion of a number of mental health experts that Trump had "[t]extbook narcissistic personality disorder".[22] Bornstein's letter of December 2015, drafted in response to questions about the health of presidential candidates, did not address Trump's mental health,[23] while claiming that he would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency".[24] Bornstein disclosed in 2018 that Trump had dictated this letter over the telephone.[25] He said: "Mr. Trump dictated the letter and I would tell him what he couldn't put in there."[26] In August 2016, Bornstein stated that Trump's "health is excellent, especially his mental health."[27]
In April 2017 forensic psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee hosted a meeting at Yale University medical school regarding the ethics of discussing Trump's mental health.[28][29] In October 2017, Lee published The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, containing essays from 27 psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health professionals on the "clear and present danger" that Trump's mental health poses to the "nation and individual well being". They argued that the president's issues affected the mental health of the United States population,[30] and that he placed the country at grave risk of war because of his pathological traits.[31] They defined Trump's behavior in terms of mental disorder, such as narcissistic personality disorder, 'extreme present hedonism' and bullying.[32] Carlos Lozada, writing for The Washington Post, considered these conclusions "compelling", but also noted that the book contributors were writing from their own political perspective, as other mental health professionals differ.[32] Lee and others contend that Trump's presidency represents an emergency allowing, or even requiring, psychiatrists to take exception from the APA's Goldwater rule, which holds that it is unethical for psychiatrists to give a professional opinion about public figures without having examined them in person, and without their consent.[33][31] Proponents of such expression have asserted that there is precedent in allowing psychiatrists to speak out when someone presents a clear and present danger.[32]
In 2017, journalist Bill Moyers interviewed psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton and said that Trump "makes increasingly bizarre statements that are contradicted by irrefutable evidence to the contrary". Lifton replied, "He doesn't have clear contact with reality, though I'm not sure it qualifies as a bona fide delusion." As an example, Lifton said, when Trump claimed that former president Barack Obama was born in Kenya, "he was manipulating that lie as well as undoubtedly believing it in part."[34]
In 2019, amid continued speculation, the American Psychiatric Association and Alzheimer's Society requested that people should not armchair diagnose Trump, or diagnose him with any disorder without being his doctor, in accordance with the Goldwater rule.[35][36]
Experts for the science publication STAT who analyzed changes in Trump's speeches between 2015 and 2024 noted shorter sentences, more tangents, more repetition and more confusion of words and phrases. The doctors suggested it could just be due to changes in mood or it could indicate the beginning of Alzheimer's.[37] The sharp rise in all-or-nothing thinking is linked to cognitive decline.[37]
Medical experts have also advised the Washington Post that Trump likely has an elevated genetic risk of dementia.[5] Nephew Fred Trump III sees signs of the dementia that he saw in Trump's father, Fred Trump Sr.[38] Fred Trump Sr. was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in October 1991, 8 years before he passed.[38]
In February 2016, presidential candidate Jeb Bush speculated that Trump had mental health issues, stating "I'm not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but the guy needs therapy".[39][40] In early 2017, psychologist John Gartner collected more than 25,000 signatures of mental health professionals on a petition, directed to the national opposition leader, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.[41] At the end of April 2017 he was able to forward the petition with more than 41,000 signatures of mental healthcare professionals to Washington D.C..[42] The core of the petition stated: My professional judgement is that Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States. And I respectfully request him [sic] be removed from office, according to article 3 of the 25th Amendment, and so on. Gartner asserted that Trump's mental handicaps are a mix of 1. narcissism, 2. paranoia; 3. sociopathy; and 4. a dash of sadism.
On April 14, 2017, Representatives Jamie Raskin and Earl Blumenauer introduced the Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity Act.[43] The bill would replace the Cabinet as the body that, together with the vice president, determines whether to invoke Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which permits removal of a president who is mentally incapacitated. Under the bill, an eleven-member commission, including four psychiatrists, would conduct an examination of the president when directed to do so by a concurrent resolution of the Congress.[44][45] Blumenauer stated:
It is hard to imagine a better group to work with the vice president to examine whether the president is able to discharge the duties of the office. When there are questions about the president's ability to fulfill his or her constitutional responsibilities, it is in the country's best interest to have a mechanism in place that works effectively.[44]
In September 2017, Jeanne Suk Gerson wrote in The New Yorker: "A strange consensus does appear to be forming around Trump's mental state," including Democrats and Republicans who doubt Trump's fitness for office.[31]
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the "Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times." Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!
January 3, 2018[46]
In January 2018, after North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and Trump publicly exchanged claims about their respective "nuclear buttons", Richard W. Painter, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, deemed Trump "psychologically unfit" and supported transferring his powers to Vice President Pence under the 25th Amendment.[47] In April 2018 Vanity Fair reported that Trump's advisers "worry about his mental health" when he is outside the controls available in the White House environment.[48]
In 2018, Trump dismissed then-prevalent questions regarding his mental health, stating that he is a "very stable genius".[47] As evidence of his mental capacities, he pointed to his business success, his victory over Republican competitors, and his election to the presidency against Hillary Clinton.[49] Trump has also pushed back on claims he couldn't remember the name of a fallen soldier while talking to the widow by stating he has "one of the great memories of all time".[50]
In response to speculation about his cognitive abilities, Trump was administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) at his own request as part of his January 2018 health checkup. He claims he received a score of 30/30, indicating a normal level of cognitive function, though the results have never been released.[5] Critics have contended that the MoCA test is too basic to diagnose the problems asserted.[51][52] Trump used the phrase "Person, woman, man, camera, TV" several times during a July 2020 Fox News interview with Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at New York University,[53][54] while boasting about his performance on and describing part of the 2018 MoCA test.[55] Trump has not publicly revealed the results of any subsequent cognitive tests, but as late as 2024 continues to brag of his performance in the 2018 cognitive test.[17] Ziad Nasreddine, the neurologist who created the test Trump took, said that 2018 results would be too outdated to be relevant in 2024.[1]
In December 2015, Trump's personal physician, Harold Bornstein, released a superlative-laden letter of health praising Trump for "extraordinary physical strength and stamina", saying he was the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency", and said that a recent medical exam yielded "only positive results".[56] Before Bornstein's death in 2021, he told CNN that Trump had dictated the entire letter.[5][57] The language used was in Trump's style and not that typical of a medical doctor; in particular, the American journalist Kurt Eichenwald noted that positive test results often do not mean a positive (favorable) outcome for the patient.[58] A follow-up medical report by Bornstein claimed Trump's blood pressure, liver and thyroid functions to be in normal ranges, and that he takes a statin. At 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and 236 lb (107 kg), Trump's body mass index of 29.5 registered as overweight.[59][60][61]
In January 2018, Trump was examined by White House physician Ronny Jackson, who stated that he was in excellent health, although his weight and cholesterol level were higher than recommended,[62] and that his cardiac assessment revealed no medical issues.[63] Several outside cardiologists commented that Trump's weight, lifestyle and LDL cholesterol ought to have raised serious concerns about his cardiac health.[64] Trump's 2018 coronary CT calcium scan score indicates he has a form of heart disease called coronary artery disease, which is common for white males at his age.[65]
On May 1, 2018, Bornstein told NBC News that three Trump representatives had "raided" his office on February 3, 2017, taking all of Trump's medical records. He identified two of the men as Trump's longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller and the Trump Organization's chief legal officer Alan Garten.[66] Two days earlier, Bornstein had told a reporter that Trump took a prescription hair growth medicine, Propecia, after which Trump cut ties with him.[66][67] In February 2019, Trump was examined by White House physician Sean Conley. Conley stated Trump was in "very good health overall", although Trump was now clinically obese, at 243 lb (110 kg) with a BMI of 30.4.[68] In 2022, MSNBC described Trump as "notoriously secretive about sharing his health records with the public" and "deliberately misleading and even dishonest about his health".[6]
As of 2018[update] it was reported that Trump does not drink alcohol;[62] this decision arose in part from watching his older brother Fred Jr. suffer from alcoholism that contributed to his early death in 1981.[69][70] He also said that he has never smoked cigarettes or consumed drugs, including marijuana.[71]
On September 26, 2020, an event was held in the White House Rose Garden announcing Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[72] Hours after the ceremony, Trump tested positive for COVID-19, although the public would not learn of this result until late 2021.[73] His chief of staff recalled that Trump looked "a little tired" and was suspected of having a "slight cold".[73]
Despite testing positive, Trump traveled in Air Force One to a rally at the Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, which was attended by thousands.[74] The governor opposed the rally, arguing: "It is gravely concerning that the president would insist on holding this event with blatant disregard for social distancing and masking requirements. His decision to bring thousands of people together in a tight space in the midst of a global pandemic caused by an airborne virus is flat out wrong."[75] After Trump's diagnosis was made public, Pennsylvania health officials advised attendees to participate in the state's contact tracing program.[76] In the wake of the rally, the county saw a surge in COVID-19.[77]
After returning from Bedminster, Trump received a positive test result[78] on a rapid test and was waiting to get results of a PCR test when he did a live phone interview on Hannity.[79] Sean Hannity of Fox News brought up Bloomberg's report about Hicks and asked for an update, whereupon Trump publicly mentioned Hicks' diagnosis for the first time, saying, "I just heard about this. She tested positive."[80][81] Trump stated, "It is very, very hard when you are with people from the military, or from law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you because we really have done a good job for them."[82][83] Without disclosing that he had already tested positive, he announced that he and the first lady were being tested for SARS-CoV-2.[79][84][85] He repeated this via Twitter after the interview. Later that night, the result of the PCR test also came in positive.[79] On October 2, 2020, Trump tweeted that he had tested positive for COVID-19,[86][87] part of a White House outbreak.[88][89]
Later that day Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,[90] reportedly due to fever and labored breathing. He was treated with antiviral and experimental antibody drugs and a steroid. He returned to the White House on October 5, still infectious and unwell.[88][91] During and after his treatment he continued to downplay the virus.[88] In 2021, it was revealed that his condition had been far more serious; he had dangerously low blood oxygen levels, a high fever, and lung infiltrates, indicating a severe case.[89]
By 2024, the shift in Trump's speeches towards shorter sentences, more tangents, more repetition, more all-or-nothing thinking and more confusion of words and phrases could indicate cognitive decline.[37][38][92][5]
In January 2024, Dr. Jay Olshansky gave Donald Trump less than a 75% chance of living through a second term based on publicly available information about his health.[93][94]
On July 13, 2024, Trump survived an assassination attempt while addressing a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.[95] Trump was shot and wounded in his upper right ear by Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania,[96][97] who fired eight rounds with an AR-15–style rifle from the roof of a building located approximately 400 feet (120 meters) from the stage.
Trump was injured in his upper right ear.[98] He raised a hand to his ear before dropping down on his podium behind the lectern for cover.[99][100][101][102] Secret Service agents lunged toward Trump and shielded him. After the assailant was declared "down", agents helped Trump get up. Blood was visible on his ear and face. He asked the Secret Service agents to let him get his shoes.[103] According to Trump, the agents "hit me so hard that my shoes fell off, and my shoes are tight".[104]
In August 2024, Vanity Fair reported that Trump was "experiencing trauma from his near-death experience", with a campaign insider reportedly claiming that Trump was "watching that seven-second clip of how close he was to getting shot right in the head—over and over and over again", saying that Trump "may actually legit have PTSD".[105]
'notoriously secretive about sharing his health records with the public...deliberately misleading and even dishonest about his health'
[T]here are a few hard and fast principles that he himself lives by: no drugs, no cigarettes and no alcohol. Trump's abstinence from alcohol was largely shaped by the death of his brother, Fred Jr., from alcoholism in 1981.
WATTERS: "Have you ever smoked weed?" TRUMP: "No, I have not. I have not. I would tell you 100 percent because everyone else seems to admit it nowadays, so I would actually tell you. This is almost like, it's almost like 'Hey, it's a sign'. No, I have never. I have never smoked a cigarette, either."
Dr Olshansky stated on January 7th, in an article in the Hill, a Washington-based newspaper, that, 'Today his [Mr Biden's] chances of surviving through a second term in office are close to 75% (about 10% better survival than for an average man his age). Similar, although slightly less favourable survival prospects are present for Trump.'