Donald Trump health fears: Full list of strange incidents sparking concerns

Donald Trump's health has become the subject of intense discussion in recent weeks after a series of public apperances - and absences - prompted speculation about his potential decline.

The President, then aged 78 years and 7 months, became the oldest to ever be inaugurated when he came to office for the second time in January this year. Now 79, his advanced age has started showing, with eagle-eyed members of the public catching several details during his public apperances seemingly suggesting the US Commander-In-Chief could be in ill health.

While the White House, and even Trump himself, have commented on the speculation, the strange incidents have left some people convinced the President is potentially ailing.

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Hand patches

Pictures of Trump's hands have been the most prominent images to spark health concerns during the President's latest term, with dark patches having been seen appearing and disappearing. The bruise-like blotches have been, at times, seemingly covered with foundation makeup, and saw some suggest he may have been receiving intravenous therapy.

The White House has, however, said the bruising was down to a combination of "frequent handshaking" and his use of aspirin. Mr Barbarella's letter states: "This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen."

Trump's lopsided face

Trump's latest public appearance, at an event honouring the victims of 9/11 on Thursday, sparked the latest health fears for the President, with dramatic pictures and footage from the Pentagon event showing his face lopsided on one side. A drooping mouth on one side is a hallmark symptom of a stroke, but the President appeared otherwise fine when the pictures were taken.

He left the event and has appeared in public multiple times without the same droop, but it has caused concern among some members of the public. One concerned social media user said: "This is President Donald Trump's drooping face. People are worried about his health. We pray for him."

Another user said: "Either Trump has just been to the dentist or had had a TIA (transient ischemic attack) affecting the right side of his face. He sounds very tired."

Trump grips the podium

Not long before the pictures of his face were taken, the President was standing at a podium on stage and giving a speech to a gathered crowd.

He appeared to grip and steady himself on the podium momentarily, seemingly steadying himself while on stage. The steadying led people to conclude Trump may have been "extremely tired".

The President's ankles

Another concerning detail noticed by people during Trump's public appearances over the last year is the President's swollen ankles, with his legs appearing to spill over his shoes. Speculation sparked by the images reached the White House, with the President's doctor, Sean Barbarella, saying in a letter that he was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in over-70s.

He made the conclusion following a “comprehensive examination, including diagnostic vascular studies”, adding: “Bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70.”

Days of public abscence

While Trumps' numerous unusual appearances have sparked the vast majority of questions, his abscences have as well. In August, the typically spotlight-hogging President went unseen over Labor Day weekend, leading to frenzied speculation that he may have died.

The hashtags #trumpisdead and #whereistrump trended on X over the long weekend, and millions tuned in to TikToks speculating he may have suffered some kind of medical emergency. The President was quizzed on the hashtag when he did eventually re-emerge, appearing noticbly more haggard.

He claimed not to have heard about the trend, and later said the "reports" were "fake news".

Trump's ramblings

Physical ailments may have dominated conversations about Trump's health recently, but questions have also been raised over his mental acuity after the President made a series of blatantly false claims.

One notable claim was made in mid-July, when he recalled a conversation with his late uncle Dr John Trump, an engineer and senior researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during which he said his relative recalled teaching Ted Kaczynski, otherwise known as the Unabomber. He said: "I said: ‘What kind of a student was he, Uncle John? Dr John Trump.’

"I said: ‘What kind of a student?’ And then he said: ‘Seriously, good.’ He said: ‘He’d correct – he’d go around correcting everybody.’ But it didn’t work out too well for him.” The claim is provably untrue, however, as Dr Trump died in 1985, nine years before Kaczynski was identified as the Unabomber.

Kaczynski was also not an MIT student, having attended Harvard University and later the University of Michigan, where he received his PhD.