When he took the oath of office at the age of 78, President Donald Trump became the oldest man to be sworn in as commander-in-chief in U.S. history (beating former President Joe Biden by five months). And his second term has been rife with moments that prompted concern over the septuagenarian president's advanced age.
The New Republic on Wednesday compiled numerous examples of Trump acting erratically in public and causing critics to question if he has the wherewithal to serve out the remainder of his term. One notable recent instance of Trump displaying his age took place at a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, when he was seen falling asleep while Secretary of State and National Security Advisor (and acting Archivist of the United States) Marco Rubio was speaking.
Earlier this summer, Trump also made headlines for taking an unannounced stroll on the roof of the White House, where he then shouted answers at reporters who asked the president questions about what he was doing. Trump quipped that he was considering building a missile defense system for the White House.
“There he was on the roof of the White House on a Tuesday afternoon, doing what exactly? Nobody knows. I don’t believe he knows," the president's niece, Mary Trump, said at the time. "Maybe he was looking for his healthcare plan up there."
The third example of Trump acting in a way that made critics question his cognitive health was a November speech he gave at a summit for McDonalds franchise owners. During his speech, the president at one point did an impression of Israeli missiles striking targets in Iran.
"And then they said ‘skedaddle!’ The word skedaddle, and that went psshh like this," Trump said from the lectern bearing the seal of the president of the United States. "And I mean, it’s so unbelievable. And that knocked out Iran nuclear capability. And all of the Middle East became a different place. And now we have peace in the Middle East. And at the United Nations today they approved the board of peace.... I think it’ll be a board like no other, other than perhaps the McDonald’s board. You have a very good board."
This spring, Trump prompted a wave of mockery after heaping praise on Tesla vehicles in a photo-op alongside Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who at the time was also leading his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that gutted federal agencies. At one point he marveled over the Tesla Model S, exclaiming: "Everything's computer!" Trump announced he was buying a Tesla that day, "because number one this is a great product, as good as it gets, and number two because this man has devoted his energy, and his life to doing this."
The fiifth example of Trump prompting questions about his mental state is him wandering off on camera while in the company of Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. In October, the president was seen walking away from Takaichi during a ceremonial review of the honor guard. When the two arrived in front of a joint display of Japanese and American flags, Takaichi paused while Trump simply walked away.
Sixth, Trump prompted a wave of mockery after he publicly complimented former President Barack Obama's ability to descend staircases. The president noted that he tells himself to "be cool when you walk down [stairs]."
"So one thing with Obama, I had zero respect for him as a president. But he would bop down those stairs, I’ve never seen, da-da, da-da, da-da, bop, bop, bop," Trump said. "He’d go down the stairs, wouldn’t hold on, I said it’s great, I don’t wanna do it. I guess I could do it, but eventually bad things are gonna happen, and it only takes once. But he did a lousy job as president."
The final example of the president displaying potential cognitive decline was him posting an AI-generated video to his Truth Social account that showed him heralding "medbeds" that served as a "historic new health care system." The video showed him sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office promising to give every American a "medbed card" that would allow them to access facilities "designed to restore every citizen to full health and strength." He eventually deleted the post.
Click here to read the New Republic's full list (subscription required).
