Could Donald Trump Inherit Alzheimer's From His Father? Let's Talk About The Actual Risks

In January 2026, President Donald Trump had many scratching their heads after he gave a bizarre reason as to why he feels he won't develop Alzheimer's like his father. When asked by New York Magazine whether he was fearful he might develop dementia as well, he simply shrugged the question off. "No, I don't think about it at all," he declared. "You know why? Because whatever it is, my attitude is whatever." Ironically, since then, much ado has been made about the president's cognitive health, including all of those pesky rumors that he pooped his pants, as well as his tendency to fall asleep in public, and whether either of those behaviors could be a sign of dementia. 

As one can imagine, all of that chatter about the commander in chief and his family history has many raising a very important question: What is the likelihood of inheriting dementia? Unfortunately, however, in this case, the answer is just about as muddy and multifaceted as Trump's own answer to the aforementioned question. "People think that if their dad or aunt or uncle had Alzheimer's disease, they are doomed. But, no, that's not true," Gad Marshall, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, explained in an article for Harvard Health Publishing. "Even though family history adds to the overall risk, age still usually trumps it quite a bit. It means your risk is higher, but it's not that much higher, if you consider the absolute numbers."

According to Marshall, Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia, per Johns Hopkins Medicine, is rarely genetic. "It can be a quick no or a long no, with more explanation, but the answer is nearly always no." In turn, that means genetic testing isn't all that helpful. "It won't tell you whether you will develop the disease. It will only tell you if you are at a greater or lower risk," Marshall explained to Harvard Health Publishing. "Having the gene says you have a higher risk, but it does not mean that you will get dementia," he stressed.

Alas, according to a 2012 research study published in Scientifica (via National Library of Medicine), early-onset Alzheimer's, which is a very rare form of the disease, estimated to make up less than 5% of all Alzheimer's cases, is indeed genetic, caused by dominant mutations on the APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 genes. "We know about three genes that can cause early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and that's when someone can develop symptoms in their 40s and there are multiple family members who are affected with the disease," cognitive neurologist Anjali N. Patel, D.O., explained in a separate interview with the American Medical Association.