Donald Trump's Biggest Health Controversies In 2026 So Far

President Donald J. Trump is no stranger to making headlines, and, since his return to the Oval Office, one major area of interest has been the state of his health. At the age of 79 — he'll be turning 80 on June 14 of this year — it's not too surprising that the public would be concerned about whether the leader of the free world is up to the grueling task of running the country. However, it seems that Trump has experienced more than his fair share of scrutiny. Whether it's something his staffers have revealed, his own sometimes unfortunate blunders, or concerns being discussed by healthcare professionals, hardly a week goes by without his physical and mental well-being making the news. These are some of his biggest health controversies in 2026 so far.

Thanks to a January 1 article in The Wall Street Journal, the American public learned that Trump had taken three cognitive tests during the first year of his second term, a figure that he had previously bragged about via his Truth Social account. However, as physician Dr. Vin Gupta pointed out to MSN (via Yahoo!), "acing" a cognitive test is "not the flex" that Trump thinks it is. Frequent cognitive testing is more typical of monitoring dementia than screening for it, said Dr. John Gartner, a psychologist, when speaking to The Daily Beast Podcast (via Yahoo!).

In the same interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump divulged that the chronic bruising many have spotted on the backs of his hands is due to his aspirin use. While daily low-dose aspirin (generally, 81 milligrams) may be used for the prevention of heart attack and stroke, the president said he was using a higher dose of 325 milligrams. As MedPage Today writes, aspirin can put people at greater risk for bruising as well as gastrointestinal bleeding. They explain that aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is discouraged in adults over 70.

On January 10, a speech-language pathologist identified only as Hilary, M.A. CCC-SLP, took to TikTok to explain to her followers why Trump tends to make a "slurping" sound when he speaks. "That slurping sound is an indicator to me as a speech-language pathologist that something is very, very wrong with this man's brain," she said, noting that this symptom occurs when a person loses their swallowing reflex. She further cautioned that she can't diagnose the president; however, progressive neurological conditions such as dementia, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) all feature this tell-tale sign, she said.

@concussiontalks.slp

It's such a small thing- a slurping sound- but it is indicative of a big issue. Donald Trump's neurological decline. #slp #fyp #trump #health #maga Disclaimer: Educational content only. I do not diagnose or assess any individual I have not personally evaluated. My comments address general communication and brain injury/decline related concepts—not specific medical conclusions about public figures or athletes.

♬ original sound – concussiontalks.slp

In an episode of "The Katie Miller Podcast" that was posted to X on January 13, Katie Miller interviewed U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a range of topics, including President Donald Trump. When asked about who had the most "unhinged" diet, RFK was quick to throw his boss under the bus, declaring it to be Trump. He also revealed the rather unusual reason the president prefers McDonald's when on the road. It has to do with a belief that food from large corporations is less likely to make him sick, said Kennedy.

In this episode, I go straight to the source with HHS Secretary @RobertKennedyJr to discuss the new dietary guidelines, vaccines, President Trump, and the MAHA movement.

0:00 – Introduction
1:18 – Taking Sauerkraut to Dinner
2:01 – The New Food Pyramid
4:58 – Resetting the... pic.twitter.com/QC4K3Tq7Sw

— The Katie Miller Podcast (@katiemillerpod) January 13, 2026

During his appearance on "The Katie Miller Podcast," RFK stirred up yet more controversy when he bragged about Trump's youthful vigor. "Dr. Oz looked at his medical records and said he's got the HIGHEST testosterone level that he's ever seen for an individual over 70 years old," Kennedy told Miller. Just how high is his testosterone? In 2016, Oz revealed it to be 441 nanograms per deciliter (via NPR), which is well within the 156-819 nanograms per deciliter that Harvard Health tells us is typical for a man of Trump's age. However, Zachary Rubin, M.D., told his Facebook followers that Kennedy's comments about Trump's high testosterone are "biologically meaningless."

In a January 14 episode posted to the Legal AF channel on YouTube, Professor Bruce Davidson of Washington State University's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine spelled out why he believes that Trump may have had a stroke sometime in the previous year. As evidence, he pointed to Trump's shuffling gait and the fact that he has been photographed cradling his right hand with his left.
 "I think his stroke was on the left side of the brain, which controls the right side of the body," said Davidson, going on to add that the president has also garbled his words, favored use of his non-dominant hand when climbing stairs, and tends to fall asleep during meetings. However, Davidson isn't the first to speculate about a stroke. Trump's appearance at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in 2025, with what appeared to be a drooping mouth, also stirred rumors of a stroke (via Daily Beast).

In a New York Magazine interview published on January 26, one topic of discussion was Trump's father, Fred, who had Alzheimer's disease in his later years. The president explained that he wasn't concerned about developing the progressive neurological disease himself because of his attitude. However, the way he said it still managed to raise some eyebrows. "At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting, what do they call it?" he asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt while pointing to his head, seemingly unable to summon the needed word: Alzheimer's.

On January 29, the New York Post reported that Trump had cut a cabinet meeting short because he wanted to avoid being caught by press photographers with his eyes shut. "We're not going to go through the whole table because the last time we had a press conference, it lasted for three hours, and some people said 'he closed his eyes,'" the president explained. According to New York Magazine, Trump has frequently been spotted in recent months appearing to be napping during public events, spurring speculation that his age, along with his hectic schedule, is catching up with him.