A Daily Beast report claiming that President Donald Trump may have suffered a stroke sometime in 2025 has reignited the Trump health controversy on social media.
The report presents alleged evidence of a serious medical event. However, the White House has vehemently denied that the president has been facing any health issues since last year and maintained that Trump is doing well healthwise.
Read more: Trump appears to fall asleep during meeting, sparks 'fitness' concerns
What does the report say and cite as evidence?
The shocking assertion regarding the 79-year-old president's health was made by Professor Bruce Davidson of Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine while outlining "lines of evidence supportive," which multiple reports, as well as the Daily Beast, have also covered over the past year.
These include footage of Trump appearing particularly drowsy during public engagements, stepping slowly, and gripping his hand protectively. These are symptoms that some doctors link to stroke recovery.
{{/usCountry}}These include footage of Trump appearing particularly drowsy during public engagements, stepping slowly, and gripping his hand protectively. These are symptoms that some doctors link to stroke recovery.
{{/usCountry}}Davidson has not personally examined Trump but has discussed these possibilities with biographer Sidney Blumenthal and historian Sean Wilentz on a podcast.
Davidson said, “I think his stroke was on the left side of the brain, which controls the right side of the body.” He further cites videos of Trump “suffling his feet” and says, “It is not what we’d seen previously when he was striding on the golf course.”
He suggests that the stroke occurred more than six months ago in 2025. He added, “Earlier in 2025, he was garbling words, which he hadn’t done before and which he’s improved upon more recently.”
Additionally, Davidson noted that stroke patients frequently experience "marked episodes of excessive daytime sleepiness," or hypersomnolence as it is known in medicine. Trump now frequently appears to nod off during public engagements, like those at the White House.
Another piece of evidence Davidson cited was the footage of Trump decending stairs of Air Force One with visible caution and gripping a handrail, which Davidson suggested maybe consistent with left-brain stroke recovery.
Additionally, Trump has taken measures to conceal from the public his bulging cankles, which are a sign of chronic venous insufficiency, a condition the White House acknowledged the president has in July 2024.
However, no official medical record or diagnosis has been released confirming the stroke. Moreover, the observations made by Davidson cannot be confirmed by HT at the moment.
Read more: Trump's ‘aspirin’ admission intensifies calls for investigation into his health
Speculations of truth in report
Social media users are not denying the report subject to Trump on the runway to become the oldest president in America's history.
A user on X said, “I don’t think any of us doubt it, but unfortunately, it’s not part of the law, unbelievably, that presidents have to disclose their health issues.”
A media page on X Collective Shout Louder affirms the claims made by Davidson and posted a series of footage that shows Trump gaiting and falling asleep. They wrote, “Well he did show signs and people mentioned it when it happened. The slapping of his leg and using his left hand on the stairs leaving Air Force One. The way the same leg almost dragged while he was golfing. How he has his right side of his mouth covered when speaking in a mic.”
Throughout 2025, there have been multiple speculations and reports of Trump's physical condition. HT has reported the multiple instances of Trump falling asleep during the white house meetings as well.