Donald Trump's health became the focus of a tense on-air clash on Fox News' The Five in New York on 27 May, after panellist Jessica Tarlov suggested the President might be 'sundowning' and accused him of falling asleep at key events, prompting co-host Greg Gutfeld to accuse her of implying Trump had Alzheimer's.
Dr Jill Biden used a CBS interview to describe how she feared her husband, former President Joe Biden, was having a stroke during his faltering 2024 debate performance against Trump. Although Biden later insisted he was in good health, Jill said his confused answers during the debate 'scared me to death,' a remark that has kept questions about the age and fitness of both men alive long after the campaign ended.
On The Five, those concerns quickly boomeranged back toward Trump himself. Tarlov argued that if Biden's performance could be dissected on medical grounds, then Trump's conduct should be fair game as well. 'Moving past having to talk about sundowning, at least for Joe Biden, we can talk about it for Trump,' she said, pointing to what she described as his habit of nodding off at important functions. 'He falls asleep all the time.'
At that point, the atmosphere shifted. As she tried to continue, saying 'And then, this is back,' Gutfeld cut across her with a sharp 'Stop it.' The interruption did not deter her. 'He falls asleep all the time, do not laugh,' she insisted, as if anticipating the pushback.
Gutfeld's response laid bare the stakes of the accusation. 'You're calling sundowning? That is rich,' he said, before spelling out for viewers why he saw the remark as beyond the usual partisan jab. 'People know what that means; that is a symptom of Alzheimer's, just to be clear,' he said, according to the Express. In other words, he was accusing a fellow panellist of effectively diagnosing Trump with a degenerative brain disease on live television.
Put on the spot, Tarlov pulled back. She stressed that she had no medical qualifications and should not be treated as offering a diagnosis. 'Just to be clear, I'm not that kind of doctor, and Jill Biden isn't that kind of doctor, either,' she said, acknowledging that both women were straying onto clinical territory without the credentials to back it up.
BREAKING: Trump’s “PERFECT” health boast just collided with a cardiologist’s BRUTAL reality check.
— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) May 26, 2026
Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Monday afternoon that his six-month physical at Walter Reed checked out "PERFECTLY," complete with capital letters and an exclamation point.
If… https://t.co/2ZbUn648NA
Sundowning, Donald Trump And What The NHS Actually Says
Sundowning is not a cable-news insult thrown together in a green room. The NHS recognises it as a symptom of dementia, describing it as confusion that appears or worsens late in the day, typically between 4.30pm and 11pm. It is most often seen in people with mid-stage to advanced dementia, when diminishing light seems to act as a trigger.
According to NHS guidance, symptoms tend to escalate as evening wears on and ease again by morning. Lower lighting and lengthening shadows can cause people to misinterpret what they are seeing, which in turn may lead to anxiety, agitation or fear. In clinical settings, sundowning is treated as a serious sign that a patient's cognitive decline has progressed, not as a throwaway label.
That is why Gutfeld bristled. Even to float the term on air in connection with Trump is to invite viewers to imagine a diagnosis that, at this stage, remains entirely unverified.
How Donald Trump Has Answered Health Questions
The clash on The Five also sits against a wider backdrop of unease over Trump's own public appearances. Viewers have repeatedly zeroed in on what they see as odd mannerisms from the 79-year-old, including frequent, extended blinking on stage and reports that he has drifted off during solemn ceremonies and high-level meetings.
Trump's response has been to insist his health is robust, while offering his own, characteristically unvarnished explanation. He recently told supporters that everything had checked out 'PERFECTLY' during what he called a '6 month physical,' though the White House has not, according to reports, released a full written account from his doctors setting out what that entailed.
On the more cosmetic complaints, he has been dismissive. Addressing claims that he had fallen asleep during meetings, Trump argued that unflattering stills were being plucked from otherwise mundane footage. 'Sometimes they'll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they'll catch me with the blink,' he said. Of moments where his eyes appear closed, he added: 'I'll just close. It's very relaxing to me.'
BREAKING: Trump’s “PERFECT” health boast just collided with a cardiologist’s BRUTAL reality check.
— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) May 26, 2026
Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Monday afternoon that his six-month physical at Walter Reed checked out "PERFECTLY," complete with capital letters and an exclamation point.
If… https://t.co/2ZbUn648NA
None of that settles the question that now hangs in the air whenever pundits reach for medical language to land political blows. There is no public evidence that Trump is suffering from Alzheimer's or any other form of dementia, and no official medical record has suggested sundowning is a factor. What there is, for now, is a volatile mix of partisan suspicion, selective video clips and a national conversation that treats age and health as weapons as much as legitimate concerns.
Whether that conversation can be dragged back onto firmer factual ground will depend less on the sharpness of TV exchanges and more on what the doctors are eventually allowed to say in full.
