Fact Check

Is Trump's Health Deteriorating as White House Pressures Mount?

Claims that President Donald Trump's health was deteriorating due to the stress of his job originated from a satirical page.

Published June 25, 2017

 (Andrew Cline / Shutterstock.com)
Image Via Andrew Cline / Shutterstock.com
Claim:
Health officials announced in June 2017 that Donald Trump's health is "deteriorating."

On 21 June 2017, the Nevada County Scooper published a satirical article appearing to report that President Donald Trump's health is quickly deteriorating because of the stressors of his job:

“When he took office, let’s be honest, he was no spring chicken,” said one White House insider who spoke on condition of anonymity, “but it seems like he’s aged a decade or more in just the past few months. Everyone is very concerned about him and even his physician has told him to cut back on his daily tasks. Maybe he should go to Mar-a-Lago more than once a week, you know?”

Although there have been legitimate editorials discussing Trump's age and relative health, NCScooper.com does not publish factual stories. The web site readily explains in its "manifesto" that all of its content is intended to be read as satire:

The Scooper is a satirical website is in scope and intent. Sometimes it’s funny; often it is not. in scope and intent. It provides social criticism in a satirical, sometimes news-genre setting. We are not a “fake news” site, but rather an entertainment one. Sometimes it’s just plain-old crappy writing with a few bad jokes. Our intention is not to fool or trick anyone, but obviously it happens. We firmly believe that you can soften a person’s willingness to listen by injecting irony, and yes sometimes humor, into the conversation.

At the age of 70, Donald Trump became the oldest person to be sworn in as President of the United States. Shortly after his election, a health expert told the Washington Post that there was no reason to expect that the stress of the job would have a negative effect on Trump's health:

But unlike the fitness fanatic whom he follows into the White House, Trump apparently has never smoked tobacco. He doesn’t drink alcohol. And as a wealthy American, he has presumably spent much of his life with access to excellent health care.

Experts agree there is no reason why a healthy man in his 70s cannot carry out the demanding responsibilities of president of the United States, especially someone who has just been tested by the rigors of a 16-month campaign. Yet a person’s "healthspan" — the years he or she is healthy and free of serious disease — is a highly individual mix of genetics, nutrition, lifestyle, social support, access to care and more.

"The key thing is how any person lives with the stress,” said Gordon Lithgow, a professor of geroscience at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California, which studies ways to increase healthspan. “Some people absolutely thrive on the edge of stress."

Sources

Bernstein, Laura.   "Trump’s Health: What We Could Expect With the Oldest Incoming President."     Washington Post.   18 January 2017.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.