US President Donald Trump turned 80 on June 14. On the occasion of his birthday, he installed a UFC fight arena on the South Lawn of the White House: this show will also serve as the unofficial kickoff to the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States (the anniversary date will be July 4). On Trump’s birthday, the New York Times published material On the health and habits of the aging leader: Contributor Cathy Rogers notes his drowsiness during events, chaotic daily routines, and lack of public data on the president’s heart health. “Medusa” retells the most important aspects of this text.
According to several people familiar with Trump’s schedule and habits, he sleeps four to five hours a night.
Donald Trump’s agenda seems designed to show that he is not at all tired and stays active. For example, after the US President watches a no-holds-barred fight staged on his anniversary day on the White House lawn, he will travel to France to participate in a diplomatic summit.
Meanwhile, Trump allows cameras to take pictures of his flabby ankles, swollen hands, and his permanently bandaged hand. He climbs the high ladder to the presidential plane, Air Force One, very carefully.
Reuters/Ipsos poll, Sold out In February, it showed that nearly six in 10 Americans believed Trump was becoming increasingly unpredictable.
On June 4, during a meeting at the White House, Trump bowed slightly. In the chair During a speech by the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, giving the impression that the president was asleep. Senior White House officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that when Trump slouches, he does so to better hear the speaker (Lee Zeldin stood directly behind Trump’s chair on June 4).
On June 8, Trump appeared to fall asleep during a New York Knicks game. This news caused such a stir among Americans that the politician’s ally and team owner, James Dolan, was forced to come out and say that the president was “actively awake.”
According to White House officials, Trump does not sleep during public events. According to them, he simply looks down or listens intently with his eyes closed. They also claim that Trump’s hand is constantly bruised and bandaged “due to constant handshakes.”
“I’m a little older than some of you, but I don’t feel old. I feel the same way I did 50 years ago,” Trump said in early June. He made these statements during a meeting with his supporters in the state of Wisconsin, and they have nothing to do with the subject of the president’s speech.
In early June, speculation emerged about Trump’s illness: there were no events on his public schedule for about a week. The president’s activity declined immediately after the medical examination. However, the president’s doctor, Sean Barbabella, concluded that the 79-year-old leader’s health “remains excellent”, with his heart, lungs and nervous system working well.
The New York Times asked White House officials for Trump’s schedule during a week in which he held almost no public events. The newspaper describes the resulting document as “a disorganized series of phone calls during and between scheduled and unscheduled meetings.”
For example, on May 27, Trump participated in eight phone calls, the first of which was at 7:15 a.m. He held seven other meetings that day (including a meeting on the White House ballroom project, which lasted about two hours). He also participated in three telephone conferences, two of which related to negotiations with Iran.
The next day, Trump held 11 phone calls and eight meetings. According to the document, he left the Oval Office at 11:30 p.m. The president posted continuously on Truth Social throughout the two days.
Several Trump allies who met with him recently told reporters they saw no signs of his mental decline. A recent visitor to the Oval Office noted that Trump appeared more tired than usual, which he attributed to his “tendency for the nightlife and late-night social media posting that comes with age.”
TV host and Trump ally Tucker Carlson, who disagreed with him over the Iran war, said in an interview that in his opinion “he has not slowed down at all.” However, Carlson noted that the president does not like to discuss his age and the subject of the death: “It makes him really uncomfortable.” At the same time, according to the governor, Trump often mentions elderly people he knows who are in good shape for their age: the US president often cites 90-year-old golfer Gary Player as an example.
Trump’s opponents find another argument for criticism of his time. “An 80-year-old simply does not have the physical and mental stamina for the job,” says Democrat Rahm Emanuel. It really is called for Introducing a 75-year maximum age for high-ranking federal officials. Emanuel previously served as Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama and Senior Aide to President Bill Clinton.
The New York Times points out that despite statements by White House officials that Trump’s health reports are constantly available to citizens, he, like any president or patient, only reveals to the public what he wants. Trump’s doctors have dodged questions about his health for years, including after the 2024 assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, when a bullet grazed the president’s ear.
In October 2025, Trump underwent a planned comprehensive examination, and his health condition was studied by 22 specialists. The results were published in early June. It appears that after Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (a condition in which the veins have difficulty pumping blood to the heart), he took cholesterol-lowering medications.
Several cardiologists interviewed by The New York Times disputed Trump’s doctor Barbabella’s findings that his “heart age” was 14 years younger than the president’s actual age. Cardiologist Eric Topol, who studies gerontology, told the publication that the cardiology community cannot accept the conclusions drawn from artificial intelligence tools.
He also said that the results of Trump’s CT angiogram, a test that checks for blockages in the arteries of the heart, were “highly unusual” for a 79-year-old man. In 2018, White House physician Ronnie Jackson said Trump’s calcium level was 133, indicating plaque in his arteries, which is fairly typical for a man his age.
According to cardiologist Topol, at some points in the report the condition of Trump’s arteries was described in “insufficient detail.” Trump himself in January 2026 male In an interview with the New York Times he said he had never been diagnosed with heart disease.
In response to questions about his health, Trump described journalists as “agitators” and “traitors.” He later stated that he attacked them because he “made a harder effort than anyone else to pass the medical examinations”: “I think it’s important and I think people who become presidents should be healthy and have good cognitive abilities.”
The New York Times asked White House officials about Trump’s calcium levels, angiogram results, and tests that could shed light on the reasons for Trump’s daytime sleepiness.
“All of the aforementioned tests were performed and all showed flawless results,” the White House said. They also noted that Trump “has nothing to hide.”
If Donald Trump completes his term as scheduled in 2028, he will become the oldest president ever to hold office.