ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — After a video of President Donald Trump’s entrance for his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska went viral, his health became a hot topic of conversation. The video shows the 79-year-old President going down the red carpet to meet Putin with a shaky, “staggering” pace. The television cameras caught the picture, which has led to a lot of conjecture on social media regarding his health.
People on social media quickly made analogies, with many saying that a comparable event with former President Joe Biden would have gotten a lot more media attention. One person said, “If Biden did this, Jake Tapper would have written 64 books about it, FOX would have made a 72-episode documentary about it, and Rob Reiner would have made a movie about it.” Some users were less subtle, with one person saying, “If that were a field sobriety test, he would be going to jail.”
Chronic Venous Insufficiency and Other Health Issues
In July, the White House said that President Trump has a medical issue called chronic venous insufficiency. This happens when the veins in the legs can’t send blood back to the heart quickly enough, which causes blood to pool in the lower limbs. Swelling, changes in the skin, and swollen ankles are common symptoms that could make it hard to walk. The pressure and fluid buildup from the pooled blood can have a big effect on a person’s balance and how they walk.
Trump and Putin talked about a possible ceasefire in Ukraine at their summit, but no major progress was made. Trump said the meeting was “very productive” and that they “agreed on many points” and just had “a very few” left to talk about. He didn’t say anything else about the exact grounds of agreement or disagreement.
The focus on Trump’s health adds another level of scrutiny to his leadership, especially with the 2028 election coming up. People are talking about whether he is physically suited to be president again because of what happened in Alaska.