A popular criticism of former President Joe Biden was his advanced age and the effects it may have had on his health while in office. President Donald Trump now suffers similar criticisms, but the guessing games being popularized by the media are pointless.
A popular sign that Trump’s health is worse than reported are the comments attached to released medical reports for Trump. A 2025 report had a seemingly unimportant summary of Trump’s daily activities, including “frequent victories in golf events.” A 2018 report gave Trump glowing results, with his doctor saying “he might live to be 200 years old” if he had a healthier diet.
The president’s age is another variable sowing doubt about his health. At the start of his second term, Trump was the oldest president to be sworn-in, exceeding Biden by 159 days.
Moreover, like most citizens, the president is not required to disclose his health outside of specific circumstances, and there are incentives for others not to tell.
“There’s a tendency for the White House staff, regardless of the president, to sort of exaggerate the health of the president,” said Scot Schraufnagel, a professor of political science. “The people who work at the White House, they’re all dependent on that president for their job, right? And so, for job security, they need the guy to be healthy.”
This was indeed the case with Woodrow Wilson. In 1919, the 28th president of the U.S. suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed, yet the White House and his wife, Edith Wilson, insisted that he was still performing his duties, though Edith was effectively doing the president’s work.
Though we now know that he suffered the effects of polio, Franklin D. Roosevelt endeavored to hide the severity of his condition during his presidency. John F. Kennedy also suffered numerous health issues he hid from the public.
None of these presidents ended their terms prematurely due to illness, nor did Biden despite furious speculation about his health. Given Trump’s determination to keep the presidency, to the point where he declared the election was “stolen” in 2020, it is unlikely that he will choose differently.
As such, unless Trump is significantly impaired by illness, the media is wasting its time diligently reporting every bruise, bald spot and vocal blunder. These are not tangibly affecting or relating to the lives of the average American; reporters can’t prove that Trump is performing worse in office because of these signs of poor health than if he was perfectly healthy, nor can they prove that death or an exit from the White House is imminent.
These signs are unlikely to change the general public’s stance toward Trump either. Unless his health harms his policies, voters will care more about what the president is doing and how his decisions will affect them over the unknowable odds of his imminent demise.
