At age 71,
is the oldest person ever to have been elected to his first term as president. Though he still gets plenty of regular exercise on the golf course, it has to be said that he's not in the best shape - and that might have something to do with
.
Some people have also expressed concerns about his mental health, too. Some of the
he's made in the past showed a distinct lack of coherence, urging some to believe that the former businessman and reality show host might be in the early stages of dementia.
These worries were bolstered somewhat by a conference held by Trump on Wednesday, in which he appeared to have unusually slurred speech.
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During the final part of his speech on the controversial decision to legally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Trump seemed to have trouble pronouncing the letter 'S' when saying his closing statement:
“And finally I ask the leaders of the region, political and religious, Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish and Christian and Muslim to join us in the noble quest for lasting peace.”
This caused many to speculate about whether he had something in his mouth, or his dentures were coming loose, or that he was suffering from some other dental problem.
When questioned on the matter, however, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted that it was nothing of concern. "There were a lot of questions on that. Frankly, pretty ridiculous questions," she said. "The President's throat was dry, nothing more than that."
She went on: "He does have a physical scheduled for the first part of next year, the full physical that most presidents go through. That will take place at Walter Reed, and those records will be released by the doctor following that."
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If the Trump administration do actually follow through with this promise, it will be the first time that the White House has released records about his health. Most of his predecessors regularly published the results of their medical check-ups, so it's almost expected anyway. Then again, all previous presidents also released their tax returns, so maybe we shouldn't hold our breath.
The President has previously disclosed some information about his mental and physical wellbeing, however. Back in September 2016, when Trump was still campaigning for the presidency, he released a doctor's note which stated that he "had no significant medical problems". In fact, the doctor who wrote the note boldly concluded that
"if elected, Mr. Trump ... will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."
The doctor later admitted that he does not normally write in such a hyperbolic fashion, but that he "probably picked up [Trump's] kind of language and then just interpreted it to [his] own."
Even if the letter was completely legitimate, it was actually written in December 2015. In the two years that have passed since then, it would be possible - if not likely - for any person in their late sixties/early seventies to develop a severe health condition.
Hopefully, the next medical assessment, which is due to take place next month, will clear the air and officially state whether or not
is mentally and physically fit enough to continue as president.
