Trump has 'less than a 75 percent chance' of 'making it through second term': doctor
President-Elect Donald Trump, now 78, will be 82 by the time he finishes his second term on January 20, 2029 — which will make him one year older than 81-year-old President Joe Biden is now.
In an article published after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, journalist Will Neal takes a look at what doctors have had to say about Trump's physical and mental health. And Neal points out that one source believes Trump has "less than a 75 percent chance" of "making it through his second term."
"An earlier physical in 2018 also determined that Trump suffers from coronary artery disease, a common heart condition for men of his age," Neal explains. "In 2021, it was further revealed the White House had been at some pains the previous year to downplay how seriously Trump had been affected by a bout of COVID-19, which had in reality resulted in such dangerously low blood oxygen levels that officials had raised concern he would need to be placed on a ventilator."
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Neal notes that Trump is believed to weigh around 244 pounds. If Trump were unable to serve out all of his second term, Vice-President-Elect JD Vance would take over as president.
The Daily Beast journalist points out that Trump's "cognitive performance" also merits discussion.
Far-right pundits at Fox News, Fox Business and Newsmax have mocked Biden's verbal gaffes relentlessly — typically while ignoring gaffes coming from Trump.
"From accidentally backing Biden as president and decrying 'hummus' over the war in Gaza to — well, just a generally spectacular public descent into rambling incoherence — Trump's well-documented list of gaffes is as long as it is, frankly, terrifying at this particular moment in time," Neal argues. "Depending on which experts you ask, these verbal blunders could be a sign of anything from early symptoms of dementia to mood changes indicative of an underlying narcissistic personality disorder. Maybe both."
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Read the Daily Beast's full article at this link (subscription required).
