In the Oval Office, the noise usually does the talking—staff moving in and out, photographers angling for a shot, the low murmur that hangs over any on-camera sit-down. But in a recent New York Magazine interview, there was a pause that landed hard: President Donald Trump, now 79, started describing his father, Fred Trump, and then stopped mid-thought, reaching for a medical term he couldn’t quite pull up.
“He had one problem. At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting — what do they call it?” Trump said, turning his head toward press secretary Karoline Leavitt for help.
“Alzheimer’s,” Leavitt replied. “Well, I don’t have it,” Donald Trump declared.
Trump on his father, Fred:
“He had one problem. At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting—what do they call it?” Trump said during an interview with New York magazine in the Oval Office, pointing to his forehead and looking toward WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt for… pic.twitter.com/byduD8VAPM
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 26, 2026
It was a fast moment—over in seconds—but it brought the conversation right back to the question that has trailed Trump for years and now hangs over his second term. It highlights the gap between what Donald Trump says about his health and what people actually see with their own eyes.
Inside Donald Trump’s White House, the counter-message is not subtle. Allies don’t simply insist he’s fine; they insist he’s exceptional.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller rejected the idea that the administration is hiding anything, saying the President is stronger than the people around him.
“Fred Trump died in 1999 at age 93. He had, Trump said, a ‘heart that couldn’t be stopped’ with almost no health conditions to speak of throughout his long life. ‘He had one problem,’ Trump said. ‘At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting, what do they call it?’ He… pic.twitter.com/Zwack7MVkQ
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) January 26, 2026
“He can work harder, and he has a better memory, and he has more stamina and more energy than a normal mortal,” Miller told New York Magazine. He added, “The headline of your story should be ‘The Superhuman President.’”
The administration’s posture has mattered because it comes after the White House faced pointed questions about Donald Trump’s public appearance—swollen ankles, bruising on his hands, and his visible irritation when reporters asked about it.
The White House said last year a doctor diagnosed him with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition among older adults that can cause swelling when blood circulation in the legs isn’t as efficient.
He’s a fucking liar .. the doc is.
This 👇 .. IS NOT PERFECT HEALTH.
this is PALLIATIVE
Once ur brain gets this diseased.
Ur considered palliative.
No cures and minimal treatment avail
All he has to 👀 forward to is ⚰️ These docs should be ashamed of themselves https://t.co/LNsCMNL2mp pic.twitter.com/7FUF4AmKgZ
— Jacquie_RN 🇨🇦🩺🌸🌷 (@jacquie_rn) January 26, 2026
Officials also attributed bruising on his hands to frequent handshakes, compounded by a daily aspirin regimen meant to protect his heart.
But the skepticism goes beyond bruises and swelling. Observers have flagged times when Trump looks shaky on his feet or seems to drift off. There are clips of him struggling to walk a straight line, and moments at public events where he has appeared to doze off entirely.
The President was asked directly whether his family’s history worries him. He waved it off.
“No, I don’t think about it at all,” Donald Trump said. “You know why? Because whatever it is, my attitude is whatever.”
Trump on his father:
“He had one problem. At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting, what do they call it?… Like an Alzheimer’s thing. Well, I don’t have it.” pic.twitter.com/yfJu4eNBLJ
— FactPost (@factpostnews) January 26, 2026
He has repeatedly dismissed questions about cognitive decline by saying he “aced” three cognitive tests, while New York Magazine noted the unanswered question beneath that boast: why the tests were necessary in the first place.
Mary Trump, the President’s niece and a clinical psychologist, has been one of the loudest voices insisting the concern isn’t hypothetical. She told New York Magazine she has watched her uncle and seen flashes that remind her of the family’s past—her grandfather’s deterioration as Alzheimer’s took hold.
“One of the first times I noticed it was at some event where he was being honored,” she said. “I looked at him and saw this deer-in-the-headlights look, like he had no idea where he was. Sometimes it does not seem like he’s oriented to time and place. And on occasion, I do see that deer-in-the-headlights look.”
The response from Trump’s team was immediate and personal.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung attacked Mary Trump for her comments. “Her entire worth as a human being is predicated on spewing lies about President Trump in a sad attempt to stay relevant,” he told The Daily Beast. “President Trump’s excellent doctors have repeatedly affirmed that he is in perfect physical and cognitive health.”
For Donald Trump, this is familiar terrain: deny, counterpunch, project strength. But the moment that set this latest round off wasn’t a policy fight or a courtroom filing. It was a simple pause, a missing word, and a press secretary supplying it—one small, human beat in a presidency that sells itself as larger than life.
