Just 10 months into his second term, President Donald Trump is already exhibiting multiple signs of "fatigue," according to the New York Times.
The Times reported in a Tuesday article that the president's behavior has prompted various experts to question whether the administration is being forthcoming about Trump's health, given that he is the oldest person to be ever be elected president (beating out former President Joe Biden by roughly five months). George Washington University political historian Matthew Dallek told the Times that the White House is withholding information about Trump's health in ways similar to those of the Biden White House.
“The people around him are similar to Biden’s aides,” Dallek said. “They would talk as if we’re living in a little bit of a fantasy world. Trump, in that way, with the help of his aides and his doctors have created this fiction about his health to hide the hard, cold truth that he is 79 and one of the oldest people to ever occupy the Oval Office.”
According to the Times, Trump's "battery shows signs of wear" during some public appearances, including one from November in which he was seen dozing off during an Oval Office event. Trump appeared to drift in and out of sleep until someone at the event collapsed and required medical attention.
Trump's public appearances themselves have also been cut short compared to his first term. The paper cited Capitol Hill outlet Roll Call's presidential calendar tracker and found that the president typically doesn't attend official events until after 12 PM, whereas his average day started around 10:30 AM during his first term.
"The number of Mr. Trump’s total official appearances has decreased by 39 percent," the Times reported. "In 2017, Mr. Trump held 1,688 official events between Jan. 20 and Nov. 25 of that year. For that same time period this year, Mr. Trump has appeared in 1,029 official events."
Trump's schedule is noticeably less demanding than that of his predecessors during their respective second terms. The paper found that while former President Barack Obama's days typically started around 10 AM, he maintained a regular daily schedule through 7 PM, when he had dinner with his family. Former President George W. Bush was usually in the Oval Office by 6:45 AM each day, and both Bush and Obama also made time in their schedules for regular exercise, while Trump does not.
Click here to read the Times' full report (subscription required).