Donald Trump insists he’s fine—a paragon of health and vitality, in fact. And if you think otherwise? “It’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous,” in the president’s estimation.
“I work very hard, probably harder than I have ever worked before,” Trump declared in a Truth Social post last week, seemingly in response to a weeks-old New York Times report about the 79-year-old’s apparent decline in stamina. “I will know when I am ‘slowing up,’ but it’s not now!”
Of course, his belated declaration of hardiness only drew more attention to his health—a subject of particular scrutiny during this first year of Trump’s second term. (“Mine is good,” Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, recently told Vanity Fair when asked about her health and that of the president. “His is great.”) What’s going on with his hands? Why is he seemingly dozing off during meetings? (Per Wiles: “He’s not asleep. He’s got his eyes closed and his head leaned back…and, you know, he’s fine.”) And why does he always seem to be taking cognitive tests? Here, we review the questions Trump has faced since January—and the fervent denials that have only kept speculation simmering.
Trump wears a bandage on his right hand delivering remarks during an event at Mount Airy Casino Resort, December 9, 2025.Alex Wong/Getty Images.
The Hand Situation
Let’s start with Trump’s hands, which have repeatedly appeared bruised or discolored and have occasionally been covered with Band-Aids or caked-on makeup—as seen during his recent appearance at the White House Congressional Ball. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, has said that the president’s hands are bruised “because he’s constantly working and shaking hands all day every day.”
“President Trump is a man of the people,” Leavitt explained in February. “The president is literally constantly shaking hands,” Leavitt reiterated this month.
Sean Barbabella, physician to the president, also chalked up Trump’s hand bruises to his glad-handing habit, as well as an aspirin regimen. “President Trump remains in excellent health,” Barbabella said in a July memo. But many social media users (as well as doctors who haven’t treated Trump) have questioned that explanation, speculating instead that the bruising and Band-Aids could be related to an undisclosed medical condition.
