It took only a few minutes of footage to reignite the debate.During a9/11 commemoration in September,cameras caught what appeared to be apronounced droopon the right sideof Trumps face.

The images quickly went viral. So this guy like 100% had a stroke, right? podcaster Jeremy Kaplowitz wrote on X that same day, a post later liked more than 272,000 times. TheWhite Housedid not immediately comment. On January 15, however, theDaily Beastreported a theory from Professor Bruce Davidson of Washington State Universitys Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, suggesting a medical episodesix months ago or more, earlier in 2025.Davidson also noted that Trump beganshuffling his feetwhile walking and was garbling his words.

Washington quickly pushed back, dismissing the report as aBS fake news story.

Life under a microscope

Since returning to the Oval Office,close scrutiny of Trumps public appearances have sparked numerousrumours about his declining health.The White House has sometimes offered rather unexpected explanations. Bruisesseen on his handsduring a February meeting with French PresidentEmmanuel Macronwere attributed to the fact that he is constantly working and shaking hands all day,every day,PressSecretary Karoline Leavittsaid.

Whenimages showedTrumpwith swollen ankles and struggling to walk steadily, Leavittsaidthe president suffers from a chronic venousdeficiency,addingthat there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or arterialdisease. But unlike previous presidents, nofull medical records have been releasedonlysummarised memorandafrom White House physician Dr Sean Barbabella have been made public.

Lets be clear: we have no idea what his health condition is. All we can really assess is what we see, presidential historian Barbara Perrysays. And what we witness is an almost octogenarian man whokeeps nodding offat public events, and whose speeches can be quite strange.

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Trumps lifestyle has also drawn significant attention. He has long dismissed the value of exercise and openly embraces fast food. After returning to the Oval Officefollowing his inauguration, he quickly had the famousDiet Coke buttona red button on his desk that summons staff to deliver his preferred sodareinstalled, echoing the setup of his first term.

When Trumps controversial health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was asked about Trumps diet, hereportedly replied:I dont know how he is alive.

Turning suspicion into confrontation

Trumpsfamily history his fatherFred diedafter suffering from Alzheimers disease is frequentlycited by criticsincludinghis niece, psychologist MaryTrump. But doctorswarn againstdrawingsimplistic conclusionsbased loosely on genetics.TheAlzheimers Associationnotesthat,although family history can affectthe level ofrisk, lifestyle factorsplay a significant role.

To fend off questions about his mental fitness, Trump has repeatedly boasted that heacedseveral cognitive exams,claimingperfectscoresnot just as proof of his fitness for office but as evidence of exceptional sharpness. I got the highest score possible, he has said at rallies, in interviews, and on Truth Social,claimingthat no other presidenthad been willing to take such tests.

The US president even declared in December that he issharper than I was 25 years agoin response to a New York Timesarticleabout how he seemed to be slowing down before apparently dozing off at a cabinet meeting.

TheMontreal Cognitive Assessment,which Trump took in 2018 and then twice in 2025,is a screening tool rather than a diagnostic test, with limited scope. Any adolescent could easily pass it, argues emeritus political scientist Denis Lacorne, who has followed US presidents since the 1960s.

Constantly invoking it is anything but reassuring.

A long history of secrecy at the top

Weve just lived through this with President Biden, says Perry. Wesaw itwith our own eyes, yet it was covered up until it became impossible to deny, she says. Presidents can decline very quickly. Some draw energy from crowds and public appearances, which can mask fatigue or deterioration.

Trumpthus fitsinto a long American tradition. Woodrow Wilson governed after a debilitating stroke in 1919 and the last year of his presidency was managed by his wife. Franklin D. Roosevelt had suffered polio and was in a wheelchair, though not impaired cognitively. John F. Kennedy suffered from Addison's disease and a bad back; he was heavily medicated and this was concealed,University of Texas at Austin professor James Galbraithsaid in an email.

The high-pressure nature of the job also plays a role.

Presidents operate in a cocoon. The public never has full certainty about their condition, Galbraith said. Erratic decisions can reflect impairment or simply bad information and extreme pressure.

The presidency makes you age faster, adds Olivier Richomme, a political scientist at Lyon 2 University. Its not a job designed for someone close to 80.

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With Trump, he adds, there is also a culture of loyalty and courtisanship that prevents honestdiscussion.

The constitutional safeguard of the 25th Amendment theoretically allows for a transfer of power in case of incapacity. In practice, few believe it could be invoked today.

Its a nuclear option, Richomme says. Politically, it is almost unimaginable in a polarised system, because it requires two-thirds of Congress to agree.

A question postponed

Trumpsfrequent dozingand tendency to veer off topic into sometimesbizarre tangentshave long fuelled his critics.

Hissupporters cite his packed schedule, frequentrallies andconstant media exposure as evidence of his stamina.

They refuse to see it, while those who oppose him can only see the opposite, Richommesays.Trumps impulsive rhetoric and erratic policy signals make questions about his health unavoidable.

Within the Republican Party, and ahead of midterms that couldhand the Democrats a landslide victory, the subject remains taboo.

No one around him has an interest in raising the issue, Richomme says. Silence is safer.

The danger isnt only decline, Perry warns. Its decline combined with secrecy, loyalists and the absence of independent advisers.

As withseveral presidentsbefore him, the full truth about Trumps health may only emergeafter his tenure in office.

Originally published on France24