President Donald Trump appeared to show signs of fatigue during a ceremony. What to speculate on his state of health, the day of his 74 years.
The state of Donald Trump was the subject of speculation in the United States this Sunday 14th June, the day of his 74 years, after he had seemed to give the previous day some signs of fatigue during a ceremony.
The American president had wanted, despite the pandemic, to come to greet Saturday the promotion 2020 of the prestigious military academy of West Point, near New York.
Accused of trying to politicize the military in the face of anti-racism protests in recent weeks across the country, he delivered an unusually consensual speech to him who likes to stray from his prompter.
Invited to leave the scene after addressing the future elites of the American army, he seemed to know some difficulties on the access ramp, descended with cautious steps.
American media have also noted that he needed both hands, in the middle of the same speech, to bring a glass of water to his lips – which he has done several times in the past -, and that he had struggled to correctly pronounce the name of General Douglas MacArthur, hero of the Second World War.
Trump’s response
Donald Trump charged himself late Saturday evening on Twitter to answer questions about his physical condition.
The access ramp to the West Point platform was “very long and steep, had no railing and, most importantly, was very slippery,” he said.
The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery. The last thing I was going to do is “fall” for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2020
He claims to have been extra careful not to fall and to give the media an opportunity to make fun of him. And points out that he hurtled “running” the last three meters of the ramp.
The subject is all the more slippery as the 74-year-old Republican billionaire has made his health a campaign argument against his future Democratic opponent in the November presidential election, Joe Biden, aged 77.
Donald Trump regularly likes to attack his physical and mental form the former vice-president, known for his blunders and memory lapses, which he nicknamed “Joe asleep”.
But this taunting does not prevent speculation about his own health, especially when he made a mysterious visit to a military hospital near Washington in November, outside of the usual schedule.
There were rumours that it had been triggered by chest pain, which may be a sign of heart problems in particular.
But the White House said its routine annual checkup was anticipated due to a particularly busy 2020 calendar, and its doctor said it had not been “diagnosed or treated for urgent or acute problems”.
Oldest president in history
During a tribute ceremony at the end of May in the Arlington military cemetery, to the fallen American soldiers, Donald Trump had already raised some doubts by appearing to have trouble staying still.
70 years old and 220 days old when he took office in January 2017, the oldest president in the history of the United States – before Ronald Reagan – has also recently caused controversy by saying that he received for two weeks treatment of hydroxychloroquine, as a preventive against the new coronavirus.
According to the White House doctor, the former New York businessman did not experience any of the side effects caused by this antimalarial whose effectiveness against Covid-19 has never been rigorously demonstrated.
“The data indicates that the president remains in good health,” concluded Dr Sean Conley in early June in a brief report, specifying that the seventy-year-old, a lover of golf and fast food, weighed 110 kg for 1.90 m.
