Found an error?
Report now
US President Donald Trump - here at an appearance in Wisconsin on June 5, 2026 - will be 80 years old on June 14.
Picture: Keystone/AP Photo/Glen Stubbe
Donald Trump turns 80 next week - and uses health as a political weapon. Meanwhile, speculation about the US President's possible illnesses continues unabated.
Frail, senile and sleepy: this is how Donald Trump repeatedly portrayed his predecessor and intimate enemy Joe Biden. In contrast, the US President presents himself as a kind of Superman with outstanding mental and physical fitness. However, ahead of Trump's 80th birthday on June 14, there are doubts as to whether he is physically and mentally up to the task.
Trump's personal physician certified the Republican's "excellent health" just a few days ago after his annual health check. The president is "fully capable of performing all duties as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and as head of state", explained Sean Barbabella.
Independent medical experts take a completely different view: 36 neurologists, psychiatrists and other doctors called for Trump's impeachment at the end of April. His mental state has "deteriorated further" since the 2024 election year. The president poses "an increasingly great danger to the public", especially as he could use nuclear weapons as commander-in-chief, explained the doctors, some of whom say they vote Republican themselves.
"Digressive language", "inexplicable sudden changes of course on strategic issues" and "grandiose and seemingly delusional convictions" were noted by the doctors in Trump's remote diagnosis. In addition, there was a "lack of impulse control, visible in reckless threats of violence". The doctors also noted "seemingly compulsive, addictive night-time communication - for example 150 posts on social media in one night".
The president himself, on the other hand, considers himself a "genius". He boasted that he had just scored 30 out of 30 points in the cognitive test. His doctors attested to his "extreme intelligence".
However, Trump is actually showing clear signs of ageing. Time and again, he seems to nod off during appointments in the White House. He himself claims that he just wants to "rest his eyes" for a moment. In addition, swollen ankles and large bruises on his right hand, some of which were covered with make-up, could be seen during appearances. The White House explained this with "frequent handshakes" and the intake of aspirin.
The fact is: Trump is the oldest man ever to be elected US president. When he took office, he was 78 years, seven months and eleven days old - around five months older than Biden, whom he vilified as senile, and significantly older than predecessors such as Ronald Reagan (69 years) and George W. Bush (64 years) when they were sworn in.
So is the White House concealing Trump's illnesses? There is always speculation about this in Washington. This has happened several times in the past with US presidents. Well-known examples include Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 to 1945), who used a wheelchair due to polio. However, he hardly ever did this publicly so as not to appear weak during the Second World War. Or John F. Kennedy (1961 to 1963), who secretly suffered from an adrenal gland disorder and back problems.
What is special about Trump, however, is that he uses the issue of health as a political weapon. During the 2024 election campaign, he repeatedly lashed out at "sleepy Joe" Biden, who, to the horror of his supporters, was becoming increasingly mentally unwell - until he finally had to give up his candidacy to Vice President Kamala Harris under pressure from his party.
The only health problem Trump officially has is his weight: the 1.91-metre tall president last weighed 108 kilograms, a good six kilos more than a year ago. His personal physician therefore advises him to lose weight and take more exercise, such as playing golf.
Trump flirts with eating burgers, sweets and diet cola. "I feel the same as I did 50 years ago. Maybe junk food is good after all," he joked recently. Even the otherwise loyal Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. rolled his eyes: "I don't know how he survives, but he does," Kennedy said of Trump.
Trump appears quite differently in online channels: whether 30 years younger in a slim-fit suit, slim and trim in swimming trunks or as a muscular Superman: artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible. The White House shows the president as he sees himself.
