President Donald Trump’s health has become a point of contention among his officials and advisers, with insiders reportedly “irritated” by the ongoing focus on the 79-year-old president’s physical condition, according to one of his biographers.
The White House has been forced to comment on visible bruising on Trump’s left hand and attempts to hide his swollen ankles in official photos taken in the Oval Office. In an interview on the Daily Beast podcast Inside Trump’s Head, author Michael Wolff revealed that those close to Trump are panicking behind the scenes about the scrutiny.
“The only thing that I’m hearing about his health is everyone is irritated that people are focusing on his health—I mean, the people around him,” Wolff said. “Because—and actually this makes some sense—what they see is Donald Trump always moving ahead, a man who doesn’t stop, inexhaustible. On the other hand, they acknowledge that one day he will just go over.”
Wolff further explained that those close to the president are unwilling to accept the idea that Trump could one day stop. “The idea that he will fade, that he will become sick, that he will be mortal in that way that we all are—they actually don’t accept he will stop at one point and that will be it,” Wolff added.
The White House was compelled to acknowledge that Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, a condition that can cause swelling in the legs. This disclosure came amid ongoing speculation about Trump’s mental health, including a recent comment by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who suggested that the president might be suffering from dementia.
Newsom made the remark after Trump repeated false claims about releasing water to aid in the Los Angeles wildfires. In response to the increasing health-related questions, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle defended Trump’s work ethic.
“President Trump is the most energetic and transformative president in history, and he works nonstop on behalf of the American people,” Ingle said. “Today’s three-hour marathon-long Cabinet meeting that was open to the press and the American people proves exactly that.”
Despite these defenses, the growing attention surrounding Trump’s health continues to raise questions both inside and outside the White House, as officials and the public remain curious about the president’s physical and mental well-being.
