Donald Trump is “lacking” a major quality required to be the US President, according to commentators speaking out on his 80th birthday. The American leader will celebrate turning 80 today with a cage-fighting show on the White House’s storied South Lawn, in what a UFC chief described as a “one-of-a-kind, incredible event”.
The milestone birthday is likely to heighten speculation about Mr Trump’s age impairing his ability to do his job; however, with recent incidents of apparent memory loss and visible symptoms, including bruising and swelling, already fuelling the debate. Mr Trump and those close to him have rubbished these claims and insisted he remains in “perfect” health – but even a particularly agile 80-year-old might struggle with the strains of such a high-powered and demanding role, according to one critic.
Rahm Emanuel, a prominent Democrat and former chief of staff to Barack Obama, told the New York Times: “Somebody at 80-years-old just doesn’t have the physical stamina, the mental stamina for that office.”
“It ages you in a way that no other stress in your life does,” he added.
It comes after Mr Trump reportedly saw a record-breaking 22 specialists during a recent health check-up, double the number he saw six months earlier.
The US leader said the appointment had gone “perfectly” in a subsequent post on Truth Social, and a White House spokesperson said the involvement of multiple specialists “reflects a comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation consistent with the best practices for executive-level medical care”.
Dr William Shultze told the Washington Post: “That report is almost too good to be true for someone of his age. This seems to be a filtered narrative.”
The White House hit back at his comments, however, with communications director Steven Cheung responding: “President Trump has publicly released more detailed information about his health than any other president in history – showing he is in excellent health.”