President Donald Trump is making headlines again for all the wrong reasons at a NATO summit in Turkey. His behavior and demeanor are not only raising eyebrows, but once again sparking fresh speculation about his health and fitness for office.
Trump arrived at the summit in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, on Tuesday, where the nation’s strongman leader, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is hosting the event at the Presidential Complex.
From the get-go, Trump appeared dazed and possibly even confused. Erdoğan was waiting for the American president when Air Force One landed.
After Trump descended the stairs and reached the bottom, a live television broadcast of his arrival shows him trying to walk beside Erdoğan but slowly veering off course, as if he were about to wander away.
Trump suddenly stopped midway between the plane and a microphone and looked around almost in confusion. That’s when the Turkish president gently took Trump by the arm and steered him down the baby-blue carpet laid out on the tarmac for his arrival.
The U.S. president briefly stopped at the microphone, but what he said for just a few seconds was unintelligible. Erdoğan continued to guide him down the carpet.
Social media melted down, and the video went viral with Trump’s arch-nemesis, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, reposting a clip that garnered more than 163,000 views with a savage message in all caps.
“THE PRESIDENT OF TURKEY IS NOW DONALD TRUMP’S CARETAKER. BIG JOB. DON’T FORGET NAP TIME. GOOD LUCK! — Governor GCN” the popular Democrat sarcastically stated.
And the comments rolled in.
“This thing is our President? Is he mentally competent? He can’t even walk without a guide?” an X user decried.
Another poster joked, “Have they tried laying cheeseburgers out for him to follow?”
This commenter hilariously remarked, “’Over here grandpa. The pork chops and apple sauce are right over here…’”
Little did Newsom know, but he might have guessed it: Trump indeed took a few minutes for a quick “nap time” just in the wrong place and at the wrong time.
A short time later, at a joint press conference hosted by Erdoğan, cameras caught Trump nodding as if trying to pay attention before appearing to doze off.
The president began leaning sideways in his chair, his eyelids growing heavier by the second. Slowly, his eyes closed, and he looked fast asleep.
He somehow rallied, opened his eyes, and sat straight up before leaning over again, this time to make it look like it was a natural sitting position, which it wasn’t.
“Whether he’s sleeping or not, he can’t sit up straight, and I’m sure he’s starting to doze. It’s disgraceful. And embarrassing to our once great country. At least give the man some speed. JFC,” an X user suggested, apparently completely serious.
“Orange Dumpty has proven that being a President is too hard for him to handle, which explains why he never does his job and lets clowns handle his circus,” another chimed in.
This one joked, “He became disinterested and sleepy when he found out that ‘Turkey’ was not his next meal.”
These weren’t the only health concerns that popped up right out of the gate at the summit. During the meeting with Erdoğan, cameras zoomed in on Trump’s discolored right hand slathered in makeup to conceal the ugly purple bruising that never seems to heal.
He’s been covering up those black-and-blue welts on his hands for several years.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, a photographer snapped a photo of an unsuspecting Trump with a glaring lesion this time on his left hand. A social media user pointed out that he also looked “feeble, scared, and lost.”
The 80-year-old Trump has been making headlines over his health issues for a year and a half since returning for a second term.
He’s undergone at least four cognitive tests in just over a year and has tried to play them off as IQ tests. He has repeatedly bragged about “acing” these tests, which experts say are used to diagnose dementia and other cognitive disorders.
In May, he also underwent his third physical exam in the past 13 months. And last year he had two CT scans over a six-month period.
Trump has repeatedly fallen asleep at White House events and other public venues. He’s given long, rambling, nonsensical speeches, slurring his words, and easily losing his train of thought.
And he’s admitted to a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency, which affects many older Americans, causing swollen ankles.
