President Donald J. Trump on July 8, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok/Flickr)
During Joe Biden's four years in the White House, Donald Trump and MAGA allies relentlessly mocked Biden for his age. But now, 20 months into Trump's second presidency, it is Trump who is being mocked for his age and mental fitness. And according to Daily Beast reporter Leigh Kimmins, White House insiders are privately worried about Trump showing his age and signs of deterioration — both physically and politically.
"President Donald Trump is rapidly turning into a cranky old man, according to White House insiders," Kimmins explains in the Daily Beast. "Issues are mounting for the 80-year-old. His handpicked Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, raised the benchmark interest rate, despite Trump's demands for rates of 1 percent or lower, while the Supreme Court blocked the president's attempt to impose new restrictions on mail-in ballots, and a federal judge again barred the Kennedy Center from putting his name on the building."
Kimmins adds, "Meanwhile, Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar turned on him and warned that Trump's immigration enforcement has gone 'too far,' saying Hispanic voters who helped elect him 'feel betrayed,' while gasoline has climbed to about $4.48 a gallon — roughly $1.24 higher than a year ago, and diesel has hit a record high amid the energy squeeze."
Worries about Trump's age among White House insiders, Kimmins notes, are coming "as the midterms are less than 43 days away."
"Some advisers say Trump can still be in a good mood, according to Axios," Kimmins reports. "However, others describe a tendency to grow irate quickly. They also say that Trump is beginning to look and act like an octogenarian. In July, Trump's aides described him as even more 'erratic' than usual, according to The New York Times. His struggle to find a 'face-saving' exit from the Iran conflict has reportedly left him increasingly frustrated and, in turn, more prone to abruptly switching up his positions."
Kimmins continues, "In August, aides admitted that their boss had little interest in traveling across the country to prop up weak GOP candidates for the midterms, according to CNN. In early September, Trump hosted an unprecedented midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, expecting candidates to come to him. At the end of the last month, White House insiders told The Wall Street Journal that Trump is more interested in his own legacy than in improving the economy or ending his war with Iran … Aides say Trump fears his presidency will be remembered similarly to 'past occupants of the White House he views as weak, such as Jimmy Carter.'"
