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Did Trump suffer a stroke in 2025? Bombshell report on severe health issues raises concerns

Claims by a medical expert have brought back the 79-year-old President Donald Trump's health into focus. 

Published on: Jan 16, 2026, 01:04:29 IST
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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.

Claims by a medical expert has brought back the 79-year-old President Donald Trump's health in focus (AP)
Claims by a medical expert has brought back the 79-year-old President Donald Trump's health in focus (AP)

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.

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.

  • Shirin Gupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shirin Gupta

    Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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