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By Peter Aitken
Politics Weekend Editor
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President Donald Trump might have eased concerns of another health scare after rumors spread online about images and video in which he appeared to have a "drooping" face.
Why It Matters
The president's health remains a topic of significant concern and attention for the nation, especially given his age: At 79 years old, he is the oldest person ever elected to the presidency, followed by Joe Biden and then Trump again in his first term.
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The White House in July announced that Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition in which the veins in the legs are unable to efficiently return blood back to the heart.
Photos taken of Trump in recent months had shown him with noticeable swelling in his ankles and bruises on his hands, sometimes covered by makeup.
While the condition can lead to more serious issues, like deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease, the White House has said that the president has shown "no evidence" of such issues.
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What To Know
Fresh concerns arose on Thursday during the president's visit to the September 11 memorial at the Pentagon, where he helped observe remembrance.
The president's face appeared to droop to one side while he sat watching the ceremony, with speculation spreading online that it indicated a deeper issue—potentially a stroke that the White House was trying to cover up.
This followed the September 10 video statement the president posted to Truth Social following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which some online users claimed must have been AI-generated due to some odd glitching in the video. But video experts determined the hiccups were the result of stitching multiple takes together and that no AI was used to produce it.
Donald Trump Face Comments Take Off Online
Adam Cochran, policy consultant and independent investigative journalist, posted a clip of the president and wrote: "At what point are we going to clue in to the President's stroke?"
"He is in ailing health, and while duly paying respects to those who lost their lives on 9/11 is barely able to control the right side of his face," Cochran wrote.
Ben Meiselas of the MeidasTouch podcast agreed, saying that Trump "looked absolutely awful during his attendance at a 9/11 ceremony at the Pentagon" because his face "was very droopy" and that he "seemed addled, like he didn't even know where he was."
Trump Appears on 'Fox and Friends' Amid Health Concerns
But Trump then made two public appearances during which he seemed in fine health, while speaking without issue and at length.
On Thursday evening, he stopped to speak with reporters on his way to boarding Marine One—as he usually does—to attend the New York Yankees game in the Bronx as part of his September 11 observance.
More prominently, the president appeared on Fox and Friends Friday morning, where he announced that Charlie Kirk's assassin had been apprehended. The president again spoke at length, with clarity, and no physical issue with his face was present.
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What Has Donald Trump Said About His Health?
Responding to a question about his health after Labor Day weekend, Trump said he hadn't seen speculation of his death that spread over social media due to a lack of public appearances and a clear schedule over the weekend—a common occurrence for any president around Labor Day.
"Well, I didn't see that," Trump said. "You know, I have heard it's sort of crazy, but last week, I did numerous news conferences, all successful. They went very well. Like this is going very well and then I didn't do any for two days and they said there must be something wrong with him."
"Biden wouldn't do them for months, you wouldn't see him, and nobody ever said there was ever anything wrong with him, and we know he wasn't in the greatest of shape," Trump said, referring to the former president.
Vice President JD Vance also had commented on the president's health at the end of August, saying Trump has "incredible energy" and is very healthy.
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