Now the ex-US president must also accept this question: “How sick is Donald Trump?”

Donald Trump’s health raises questions

It’s one of Trump’s favorite comedy routines at his rallies. And she has only one goal: to make fun of President Joe Biden’s age (81). But Trump has also stumbled less deliberately at his recent campaign rallies.

A video caused a stir on Saturday: According to the British Daily Mail, Trump appeared “unusually insecure and vulnerable” when he went to a hotel in Des Moines, the capital of the US state of Iowa, in the evening after a strenuous day. campaigning. And when he delivered a stack of pizzas for a local fire department in Waukee — also in Iowa — on Sunday, he appeared to be dragging one leg behind him.

He also repeatedly confused former President Barack Obama (62) with current President Biden. It is said that the US would become involved in World War II if Biden were to remain in power – even though World War II has been over for almost 80 years. And he mixed up the names of the cities where he campaigned. Recently, red spots on his hands raised concerns among the Republican presidential candidate.

Klaus Marre, editor at the American NGO ‘Who What Why’, asked this weekend: ‘Why is no one talking about how sick Donald Trump is?’ According to him, it is right and important to discuss Biden’s age – but Trump’s health problems should also be discussed. And according to him – and many other media outlets, such as the ‘New York Times’ or ‘Associated Press’ – this happens too rarely.

American presidents love to hide illnesses

Americans are obsessed with the health of their presidents. But why? One possible answer: American presidents have always lied to their people when it came to their health. In some cases the problems were minor, in others they were serious.

Grover Cleveland (1837–1908), the 22nd and 24th president of the US, concealed the presence of a malignant tumor for more than 24 years. «In the nineteenth century, no diagnosis was as feared as cancer. It amounted to a death sentence,” writes author Matthew Algeo in his book “The President Is a Sick Man.”

In 1919, the world faced a health crisis comparable to the Covid pandemic of the early 1920s: the Spanish flu. The 28th American president, Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924), became infected. Wilson’s illness was downplayed by those around him. Luckily he recovered and no one noticed anything. But just six months after this incident, Wilson suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side and partially blind. The tactic of the president’s inner circle was “no details, no explanation.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) also kept various illnesses secret, as did Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) and John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). So it’s no wonder that the American people monitor their presidents like a hawk for health problems.

Not only presidents, but also important government officials often hide their illnesses. The most recent example: Lloyd Austin (70), the US Secretary of Defense, suffers from prostate cancer. Instead of informing his employer – the White House – about an operation in this regard, he keeps it secret. His secret was only discovered a few days later.

Physical suffering is a sign of weakness

For Americans, all these ills—whether cancer, the Spanish flu, obesity, or even old age—do not fit the image of the strong president of the “world’s most powerful nation.” In short: it is a sign of weakness. At least in the collective understanding of America. Trump has also recognized this – and cleverly uses this perspective for his election campaign.

And not just against Biden. In August, the Republican called his (former) party rival Chris Christie (60) a ‘fat pig’ during a campaign appearance in the American state of New Hampshire. Twice. But now the pendulum of meanness is swinging back.

By the way, Trump himself refutes speculation about his health: In a speech to supporters in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Trump said on Wednesday that he felt “cognitively” twenty years younger than he is – and that he felt in better shape than when he was 40.