A new round of concerns has emerged over Donald Trump’s health, with a respected US doctor and former professor suggesting the former president may be showing signs consistent with having had a stroke. Speculation about Trump’s well-being has circulated for months, fueled by observations such as unusual bruising on his hands, moments of falling asleep during meetings, and occasional memory lapses.
While some of these issues could be typical for someone of his age, especially if managing an illness or undergoing medical treatment, the White House’s repeated insistence that Trump is “fitter than ever” has only intensified public curiosity. The demands of the presidency take a visible toll on leaders, as seen in the before-and-after appearances of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, or George W. Bush. Trump, having been the oldest president elected at the start of his second term, appears to have experienced accelerated aging during his tenure.
Dr. John Gartner, an American psychologist, psychiatrist, and former assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Medical School, has raised the latest health concerns. He has noted changes in Trump’s speech patterns and memory that, in his professional opinion, resemble the early signs of Alzheimer’s, dementia, or even stroke. Some recent incidents, including Trump struggling through rare public appearances and odd slips during interviews, have reignited these fears.
Speaking to the I, Dr. Gartner explained: “The main way to diagnose dementia is to observe a deterioration from someone’s baseline in four areas: language, memory, behavior, and psychomotor performance. If you look at footage of Trump from the 1980s, he spoke in polished, complete paragraphs. Today, he often struggles to finish a sentence or even a word. His physical coordination has also noticeably declined, and his speech sometimes jumps from topic to topic in a tangential way.” Analysts have also linked this to Trump’s history of public gaffes and erratic behavior that some experts say may indicate underlying health issues.
Dr. Gartner also pointed to Trump’s physical movements as cause for concern. “On the red carpet at Davos, he was weaving, showing what is called a wide base gait, where the leg swings in a semicircle, causing a drift to the left. This could be linked to frontotemporal dementia and may indicate a stroke affecting the left side of his body.”
The White House has consistently denied claims regarding Trump’s health. Addressing Alzheimer’s, a condition his father experienced, Trump said: “At a certain age, about 86 or 87, he started getting… what do they call it?” When his press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “Alzheimer’s,” Trump clarified, “Like an Alzheimer’s thing. Well, I don’t have it.” He also maintains that he has “aced” multiple cognitive tests.
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