What to Know
President Donald Trump appeared to momentarily forget the word for Alzheimer’s during a wide-ranging interview about his health.
Trump has faced questions about his health for months for repeatedly closing his eyes during meetings, his constant bruising on his hands and his numerous cognitive tests. In a detailed interview with New York magazine, Trump dismissed any concerns about his health despite many experts raising questions about his physical and mental fitness.
At one point, Trump explained that his father, Fred Trump, had almost no medical conditions throughout his life, except for one. “He had one problem,” Trump told reporter Ben Terris. “At a certain age, about 86, 87, he started getting, what do they call it?” According to Terris, Trump then “pointed to his forehead and looked to his press secretary for the word that escaped him.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt then jumped in.
“Alzheimer’s,” Leavitt said, according to the magazine. “Like an Alzheimer’s thing,” Trump said. “Well, I don’t have it.” Terris then asked whether Trump thought about his father having Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia.
“No, I don’t think about it at all. You know why?” he said. “Because whatever it is, my attitude is whatever.” Trump also dismissed speculation that he keeps falling asleep during White House meetings.
“It’s boring as hell,” he said. “I’m going around a room, and I’ve got 28 guys — the last one was three and a half hours. I have to sit back and listen, and I move my hand so that people will know I’m listening. I’m hearing every word, and I can’t wait to get out.”
Beyond questions about falling asleep in meting, Trump has also faced scrutiny over medical tests he’s had.
Trump faced criticism late last year after he told reporters that he had undergone an MRI in October, but did not reveal the reason why. He told Terris that getting the advanced imaging was “the worst f—ing thing I ever did.”
He then blamed his doctors, Captain Sean Barbabella and Colonel James Jones, for needing to get the tests done. Despite first claiming that he got an MRI, he revealed later that it was actually a CT scan.
“Can you explain why you asked me that?” he said to the doctors, according to Terris. “Stupidest thing I’ve ever done.” Jones explained that the test was a “computerized tomography exam of his chest and his abdomen,” adding that it was “routine.” He also emphasized that the results were “perfect.”
Trump, 79, is the oldest president ever to be sworn into office. His predecessor, former President Joe Biden, also faced questions about his health that ultimately led to him dropping out of the 2024 race.
Lauren Sforza; nj.com; (TNS) | ©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
