Did Donald Trump suffer a stroke? Here’s what the White House said about reports on the president’s health — fact check

The White House debunked the reports claiming that US President Donald Trump suffered a stroke several months ago and has kept it from the public.

In a post on X, the Trump administration, sharing the Daily Beast report on the president's health, said, "Another day, another BS Fake News "story" from the Daily Beast. President Trump is in excellent health, despite all of your deranged wishcasting."






The Daily Beast reported that Professor Bruce Davidson of Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine claimed that Trump suffered a stroke, and cited what he called “lines of evidence supportive” during an appearance on the podcast The Court of History.

Davidson told biographer Sidney Blumenthal and Princeton historian Sean Wilentz: “I think his stroke was on the left side of the brain, which controls the right side of the body,” and added, “I think the stroke was six months ago or more, earlier in 2025.”

He said he based his claim on videos and public footage. “There are videos of him shuffling his feet, which is not what we’d seen previously when he was striding on the golf course. We’ve seen him holding his right hand cradled in his left. Earlier in 2025, he was garbling words, which he hadn’t done before and which he’s improved upon more recently.”

Davidson also pointed to what he described as “marked episodes of excessive daytime sleepiness,” known medically as hypersomnolence, which he said was common among stroke patients. He said Trump now routinely appeared to nod off during public appearances such as White House events.

He further suggested that footage showing Trump gingerly descending the steps of Air Force One while gripping the banister with his left hand, despite the President being right-handed, was “consistent with having had a stroke on the left side of the brain.”

Davidson did not specify what sort of stroke he believed the President may have suffered, but said if he was correct then it “looks like he’s had significant recovery.”

Speculation about Trump’s mental and physical decline circulated for months. The President frequently appeared in public with large, visible bruises on his hands, which he attempted to conceal with blotches of makeup.