Donald Trump held a press conference on Tuesday beside a large excavation site on the White House lawn linked to plans for a new White House ballroom. 

During the event, he drew attention with unusual comments about his appearance, saying people would notice how “thin” he looked. “You don’t have to look at my waist,” he said. “You can look at this. You saw enough of my waist all over President Xi in China,” he added.

The comments quickly gained attention online. Critics argued that if  Joe Biden had made similar remarks about Trump, the backlash would have been brutal.

Online users took to X (formerly Twitter) and sparked mixed reactions. “Why aren’t Democrats calling it a national emergency? It’s like the billionaires who installed this m—n paid off the MSM and the left to sit on their hands and let the destruction of American democracy proceed unopposed,” one user wrote.

A few users mocked the 79-year-old with memes and stickers. Others pointed out how his comments seemed condescending and arrogant, sparking renewed discussions about his mental fitness.

“Does he not own any mirrors?” one user wrote.

“The only thing thin about him is his grip on reality,” another added. “There is no way the man is giving up his cheeseburgers,” a third said.

According to Fox News, concerns about Biden’s mental fitness circulated in the media for years, particularly among MAGA members since the 2019 Democratic primary race. However, scrutiny increased after Biden’s widely criticized debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27, 2024.

His prostate cancer diagnosis, announced on May 16, 2025, followed by claims in several political books and the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview recordings, intensified the debate.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Questions about Trump’s mental sharpness became an important topic during his first term in 2017, but gained renewed attention after the Charlottesville violence in August 2017.

CNN’s Brian Stelter said discussions about Donald Trump’s mental fitness had become a major topic both in public and behind closed doors. He questioned whether the Republican president was fit to lead. By then, rumors about his declining physical and mental health had begun to dominate media headlines.

Consequently, former Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson wrote that it was “time to talk about Trump’s mental health,” pointing out major changes in the 79-year-old’s public conduct. Robinson cited what he described as reduced self-awareness, reports of dozing off between meetings and an unusual gait while walking and climbing the stairs of Air Force One.

Former Johns Hopkins psychologist Dr. John Gartner pointed out that Trump is displaying a “massive increase” in clinical signs of dementia, which he said was worsening the president’s “malignant narcissism.”

Speaking on The Daily Beast Podcast, Gartner said Donald Trump’s confused speeches, memory lapses, and nonsensical remarks reveal “immense mental decline.”

The White House said in April 2025 that Trump is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 224 pounds, placing him in the overweight BMI category at 28.0. The president has not had another physical examination since then, but is scheduled for a checkup on May 26, 2026. 

According to reports, the Trump administration was previously accused of altering the president’s health results, but he dismissed those claims, saying he “ACED” the mental tests.