What's Happening With Donald Trump's Health? Everything to Know Amid Rising Concerns Over His Well-Being

Debate over Donald Trump's health has drawn renewed attention in recent weeks, despite the president's repeated insistence that he is in good health.

In an in-depth profile of Trump published by The Wall Street Journal on January 1, the 79-year-old POTUS explained his hand bruises are caused by taking a higher dose of aspirin in recent years.

"They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don't want thick blood pouring through my heart," he told WSJ. "I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?"

During the "impromptu phone interview," Trump also noted, "They'd rather have me take the smaller one. I take the larger one, but I've done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising."

To avoid speculation, he reportedly covers any marks, bruises and discoloration with makeup and bandages.

The conversation picked up again on March 3 when Trump was seen with a layer of foundation on his face and neck a day after he was spotted with a rash. His primary physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, explained The Apprentice alum was using "a very common cream on the right side of his neck" as a "preventative skin treatment" for a skin condition.

"The president is using this treatment for one week, and the redness is expected to last for a few weeks," the doctor added.

Trump seemingly used makeup again on his right hand during the swearing-in ceremony for Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin on March 24.

He was then pictured wearing Band-Aids on his right hand at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.

Trump underwent advanced medical imaging for his cardiovascular and abdominal systems in October 2025. While he initially said he had an MRI, he clarified to WSJ it was "less than that. It was a scan."

During the January 14 episode of "The Court History" podcast, Professor Bruce Davidson of Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine suggested Trump may have suffered a stroke that was never made public.

"I think his stroke was on the left side of the brain, which controls the right side of the body," Davidson said.

"I think the stroke was six months ago or more, earlier in 2025," he continued. "There are videos of him shuffling his feet, which is not what we'd seen previously when he was striding on the golf course. We've seen him holding his right hand cradled in his left. Earlier in 2025, he was garbling words, which he hadn't done before and which he's improved upon more recently."

According to the professor, the "marked episodes of excessive daytime sleepiness" are frequently observed in patients with a history of stroke. Trump was seen snoozing several times in recent months, including at a White House event in July 2025 and at the U.S. Open later that year.

Adding to the speculation, health expert Dr. Gareth Nye suggested Trump's reported chronic venous insufficiency and his medication for blood pressure and cholesterol may be indicative of possible cardiovascular concerns.

"High blood pressure can cause lower limb swelling," said Dr. Nye.

Then, on April 1, Trump set off talk he had mini-strokes after he took long pauses while delivering a speech about the ongoing conflict in Iran.

The speculation intensified when social media users claimed Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center over Easter weekend. Amid the persistent speculation, Communications Director Steven Cheung said on X that the head of state was "working nonstop in the White House and Oval Office" throughout the holiday weekend.

In addition to reported physical deterioration, Trump's alleged cognitive decline has been observed by his ex-confidants and experts.

John Gartner, a former assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, explained to a news outlet that Trump's health is visibly deteriorating.

"What we see are the classic signs of dementia, which is gross deterioration from someone's baseline and function," Gartner said in August 2025.

"If you go back and look at film from the 1980s, [Trump] actually was extremely articulate," he continued. "He was still a jerk, but he was able to express himself in polished paragraphs, and now he really has trouble completing a thought, and that is a huge deterioration."

This mirrors what New York magazine writer Ben Terris shared in an episode of the "Today, Explained" podcast, noting, "The way he tries to control the narrative, so to speak, of his health is sort of akin to how he's trying to control everything. I just feel like he's sort of losing some of that control."

After a doctor noticed Trump's signs of dementia, veteran political strategist James Carville said, "You don't have to be a neurologist or Dr. Jonathan Reiner or anything like that. We've all had experience with people aging. We've all had this experience. And you could just look at the guy as just an average person and say, 'This man is deteriorating at a really rapid rate.'"

He added, "I don't know, I mean, but it's evident. I mean, Alex Jones sees it, you see, can see it all over the right. Got Megyn Kelly and Tucker [Carlson] fighting with Mark Levin. I can't even keep track of all of them. They hate each other when they hate us."

Even Trump's former inner circle held the same views about his health.

While on "The Jim Acosta Show" on March 31, former White House Special Counsel Ty Cobb branded Trump's Truth Social outbursts as proof he's "clearly insane."

"These screeds that come out nightly, at 2 a.m. or 4 a.m. or whatever time Trump decides to vent without oversight, it highlights the level of his insanity and depravity," he said.

When Jim Acosta asked if Cobb thought Trump "is just gone," the lawyer agreed, "He makes it obvious every day."

Jones, an former Trump loyalist, cited visible "swollen ankles" and verbal lapses as the signs of the president's severe physical and cognitive decline.

"When your ankles swell up three times the size they were before, that means heart failure. And he does look sick. And he does babble. Sound like the brain's not doing too hot," he shared on his podcast. "We need to be sad about Trump. This is not funny. This is not good. But he's gone. And that's it."

While at a St. Patrick's Day event on March 17, Trump bragged about being the "best physical specimen" and "healthiest president this nation has ever seen."

"I'll never forget, they said, 'Who's the healthiest president?' Because he covered [Barack] Obama. He covered some others — I don't want to say who. And Trump. He said 'By far, Trump. There's nobody even close,'" Trump quoted his former White House physician, Texas congressman Ronny Jackson, in a St. Paddy's Day non-sequitur.

He previously credited his "very good genetics" for his health.