# So Trump is healthier than we thought… **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [February 25, 2026, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953 "2026-02-25T08:07:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/21 "2026-02-25T16:05:28Z")
I think that there is something intrinsically physically wrong with trump. I don’t _expect_ he’ll die soon, but he could and that would make me smile.I would, however, still detest and at least speak against him even then. I don’t think we should wait till he dies. Call him out for his evil, stupidity, and callous hatred daily. If he drops dead that is gravy. There does appear to be something not quite right with his health. Whether it kills him or not is immaterial. If he suffers \*\*\* good\*\*\* if he dies better. But I, for one, will believe it when it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/22 "2026-02-25T16:10:03Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I have a theory that the “USA!!” chanters have been placed there to cover when he needs to refocus. They seem to bring him back to the present. Getting a two minute round of applause after every few sentences probably helped as well. It was _visibly_ stroking his ego and I’m sure, as soon as the clapping wound down, his brain reminded him that he only needs to make it through the next few lines and they’ll do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/23 "2026-02-25T16:13:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > And really… why is everyone so eager to pin a dementia diagnosis on him, if not to try and somehow demonstrate his unfitness for office? It’s not hard to believe that he could be that much of an asshole and that dismissive of things without it. There’s some truth to this. But his rants and fantasies (like the hospital ship that isn’t heading to Greenland, Newsom dropping out of a Presidential race he hasn’t entered etc.) keep getting more and more bizarre. I still think that evidence of his mental deterioration will become impossible to ignore by sometime in 2027. Physically he could endure quite awhile longer. After all, Dick Cheney had a nearly 60 pack-year smoking history, endured five heart attacks and a host of other cardiovascular problems and surgeries, and lived to be nearly 85. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/24 "2026-02-25T16:27:36Z")
You’re almost certainly right, but the bigger question is whether that something wrong is outside of the normal parameters for someone his age. I mean, someone who’s 78 likely has multiple chronic issues going on by that age, even if they’re relatively common stuff like hypertension and arthritis. Most I’d wager probably have something else more serious than those. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/25 "2026-02-25T16:28:02Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > But his rants and fantasies (like the hospital ship that isn’t heading to Greenland, Newsom dropping out of a Presidential race he hasn’t entered etc.) keep getting more and more bizarre. And the woman that he fixed her vision. 20-20! These are what I came to ask about. I’m thinking, if this guy can’t give a speech without muttering about how water falls from the sky, or how he invented the question mark, how in holy hell could he do a relatively coherent 2 hour SOTU? And yet, here we are. Are all those stories fabricated? Was he drugged for the SOTU? Was he trolling before? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/26 "2026-02-25T16:29:29Z")
Could he have a sudden, unexpected heart attack or stroke at any moments? Sure, it’s possible, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Is he close to death from the effects of a chronic, progressive disease process like dementia or congestive heart failure? No. I’m a physician that takes care of patients in nursing homes and on hospice with just those sorts of conditions every day. I know how the elderly look when they’ve entered a terminal decline due to the progression of a chronic disease. Based on what I see of him, Trump is nowhere close to dying due to the effects of any such disease. If I had to bet on it, I’d put the odds of his living through his entire term at least 99%. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/27 "2026-02-25T16:40:10Z")
I still think he’s in dementia. But people in dementia can and often do live for multiple years; and the mental symptoms can be erratic and can progress slowly or at erratic speeds. They can also show up in matters of judgment and of failure to understand relationships between various things well before they affect the ability to get a coherent sentence out. So we certainly can’t count on his dropping dead any time soon; or on his having the sort of public breakdown that’s undeniable to even his supporters. I’ll admit to having had some faint hope for the latter; but it was pretty faint, as it had been announced in advance that he’d make a long speech, and if it had seemed likely to his inner circle that he couldn’t do that without disintegrating into much worse than his usual babble I expect they’d have found some way to prevent it. Bear in mind that the standards for Trump have for quite some time allowed for quite a bit of blatant nonsense to be taken as normal. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/28 "2026-02-25T16:48:15Z")
I also think that he is drugged for some of his more “important” speeches. The way he speeds through the beginning and slows later is indicates that to me. Also, his absolute fascination? with the grisley details of violent events disturbs me and makes me wonder if this is some symptom or just how gross a person he is. I hadn’t noticed this sort of thing until recently. Maybe it’s the drugs? It’s creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/29 "2026-02-25T17:20:23Z")
Look at his behavior in the aggregate rather than focus on a single night. I don’t think Trump is going to keel over in the next few months, but his mental decline seems obvious to me. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/30 "2026-02-25T17:51:44Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I’m not sure how many people really ever believed that he is at death’s door. I believe he had a stroke recently and that is when the rumors started. He was also going around talking about not going to heaven around the same time. He might have looked good last night, but he certainly had a severe health scare a few months ago. Both things are possible, also drugs. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/31 "2026-02-25T18:24:00Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Look at his behavior in the aggregate rather than focus on a single night. I don’t think Trump is going to keel over in the next few months, but his mental decline seems obvious to me. A decline I would agree with. A decline severe enough that we should be expecting him to die soon, even in the next few years, no, I don’t think so. Take Ronald Reagan as an example. He was clearly starting to decline in the late 80s, but he went on to live until 2004, aged 93. Having a chronic illness, even one that inevitably leads to death, doesn’t mean that death is going to, or even expected to, happen soon. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/32 "2026-02-25T21:25:12Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I believe he had a stroke recently and that is when the rumors started. He was also going around talking about not going to heaven around the same time. He might have looked good last night, but he certainly had a severe health scare a few months ago. Both things are possible, also drugs. I started the Pit thread “[Trump is Dying](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-dying/1022520)” back in August 2025 when he dropped out of public view for four days straight. I am pretty sure that’s when he had the stroke (BTW, he continues to drop out of public view for a couple of days around the end of every month). Since then he’s been on the receiving end of the best medical care the world has to offer. But at some point those Leqembi injections he is receiving every month will tear off a big piece of plaque from his brain and some underlying infrastructure will fall off with it (brain bleeds are a known side effect). If there is any justice in this universe that will be in the next couple of months but hopefully by August of 2026 at the absolute latest. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/33 "2026-02-25T21:26:31Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@Spoons](#): > > > > > “when did he get a vagina neck?” > > I saw that in the other thread. Okay, call me a naive old lady but what is that? Okay. Turns out that’s what used to be called a turkey neck. > **[How to Avoid the Neck Vagina](https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/how-to-avoid-the-neck-vagina)** > > Our president has a vagina neck. Never noticed it? Well, you can see for yourself here. And here. Also, here, here, here and — my... > The vagina neck is a variation of the better known “turkey neck,” which often occurs as people get older. As the muscles weaken with age, they’re less able to support the skin, [causing the skin to sag](https://www.epainassist.com/back-pain/upper-back-pain/turkey-neck), which is especially noticeable around the neck. In some cases, these strands of sagging skin can take on something of a labial appearance, which would only be further accented by the presence of a tight collar, like the one you might wear if you were, say, the President of the United States but still dressed like a child wearing his [dad’s suit](https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_1%2C$multiply_1%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1978%2C$x_13%2C$y_13/t_crop_custom/w_768/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto/09fbe3b7799d3911beb98bfb4a9d815d5e2ac381) to church. I think the term turkey neck is sufficiently descriptive: [![](https://exploreplasticsurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/eppley-male-direct-necklift-before.jpg) ](https://exploreplasticsurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/eppley-male-direct-necklift-before.jpg) * * * * * * > [@DWMarch](#): > > I started the Pit thread “[Trump is Dying](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-dying/1022520)” back in August 2025 when he dropped out of public view for four days straight. Personally, I’m quite fond of that thread. I get a happy little flutter when I see it. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/34 "2026-02-25T21:38:19Z")
I noted a few years back that whenever the Russian populace begins to grumble too loudly, a leak will drop about Putin’s terrible health. And every time the people calm back down and settle in to wait for the inevitable. I wonder if he gave the same advice to Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/35 "2026-02-25T22:30:58Z")
Speaking of which, all this speculation (certainly not only here) is bordering on the old art of [Kremlinology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kremlinology) (wiki): > During the Cold War, lack of reliable information about the country forced Western analysts to “read between the lines” and to use the tiniest titbits, such as the removal of portraits, the rearranging of chairs, positions at the reviewing stand for parades in Red Square, the arrangement of articles on the pages of the party newspaper Pravda, and other indirect signs to try to understand what was happening in internal Soviet politics. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. My outsider take: they will prop him up for as long as it’s possible and he’s useful. As long as he can convince enough rubes that gas is a buck a gallon and the U.S. is the hottest country in the world and that “We are winning!!!” “People are begging me, we can’t have this much winning!!!” If there’s a fair mid-term and the R loses control of congress, I expect some manoeuvring behind the the curtain. I doubt, even with a fair election, that D can pick up enough seats to convict him, but I’m too lazy too look up how many seats are available (theoretically) to flip. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/36 "2026-02-25T22:37:06Z")
It has always been my opinion that they are desperately hanging on until after the mid-terms so that if they have to remove Trump for health or other reasons, Vance will be able to serve 2 full terms. They’re delusional of course, Vance can’t get elected dog catcher at this point, but he probably still thinks he can pull it out if he tries hard enough. ## Twenty-Second Amendment ### Section 1 No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/37 "2026-02-25T22:40:03Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’ve always seen all the “Trump’s dying!”, “Trump shits his pants!” kind of lurid headlines as more along the lines of sympathetic magic by a lot of people on the Left. I mean, Trump DID shit himself. It’s on video. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/38 "2026-02-25T23:41:42Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I was truly surprised at how good he looked. Before I couldn’t take it anymore and had to turn to something else. But his skin is so smooth, his color is good. I think that’s what having a professional apply his makeup will do for him. Usually he looks like this: [![](https://www.politico.eu/cdn-cgi/image/width=1280,quality=80,onerror=redirect,format=auto/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1228232766-scaled.jpg) ](https://www.politico.eu/cdn-cgi/image/width=1280,quality=80,onerror=redirect,format=auto/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1228232766-scaled.jpg) Last night he looked like this: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCCZrkaagAAlKqI?format=jpg&name=small) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCCZrkaagAAlKqI?format=jpg&name=small) When he’s trying to spackle that shit on himself, it just doesn’t do anything to help him. But when he’s got a makeup team handling it, and maybe even a Botox guy and an Adderall guy, well he gets propped up okay for one night. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/39 "2026-02-25T23:49:22Z")
How could we ever have doubted his health? Personally, I think getting drugged up and having a nap and a diaper change was the reason for his apparent remission. I never minded that he falls asleep all the time, what really pisses me off is that he wakes up. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953/40 "2026-02-25T23:57:48Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I noted a few years back that whenever the Russian populace begins to grumble too loudly, a leak will drop about Putin’s terrible health. And every time the people calm back down and settle in to wait for the inevitable. I wonder if he gave the same advice to Trump? I feel he would be offended by that, specially if it worked. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-trump-is-healthier-than-we-thought/1027953.md?page=3)