Donald Trump’s face appeared ‘lopsided and drooping’ at a 9/11 remembrance ceremony yesterday, an expert told Metro.
Trump, the oldest person to be elected US president, appeared with Melania Trump at the Pentagon to mark 24 years since the terrorist attack.
But as the president addressed service members and families of victims, viewers noticed that the right side of his face appeared to droop.
Some users on X suggested that Trump had suffered a stroke, which can cause sudden weakness on one side of the body.
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Jeremy Kaplowitz, a TV writer, wrote: ‘So this guy like 100% had a stroke right.’
Others speculated that Trump experienced a transient ischemic attack, commonly called a mini-stroke, in which the blood supply to part of the brain is briefly cut off.
At least 240,000 Americans experience a mini-stroke each year, becoming more common with age.
Others, however, suggested that Trump’s appearance may have been due to exhaustion.
The day before the event, Charlie Kirk, a right-wing influencer and friend of Trump’s, had been murdered at a Utah college.
‘We miss him greatly,’ Trump told the crowd. ‘Yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage that he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.’
What is a stroke?
Strokes occur when the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain is cut off. This can happen when blood vessels get weak and burst under pressure, known as a haemorrhagic stroke.
Fatty clots can also clog blood vessels, leading to an ischaemic stroke.
Because a stroke injures the brain, many people who have one don’t even realise it. Symptoms can come and go, so some brush them off, explains Dr V Aggarwal at Healthium Clinics, a medical clinic in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
‘In the UK, the public message is FAST: Face drooping, Arms weak, Speech slurred, Time to call 999,’ he adds.
‘Even if symptoms improve, urgent care is essential. Strokes can be disabling or fatal, but quick treatment saves lives and reduces long-term damage. If a stroke is suspected, it is always safer to act immediately than to wait and see.’
Dr Aggarwal says that high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and smoking can increase the risk of suffering from a stroke.
The speculation came only a week after internet users became convinced Trump was either dead or about to be.
They pointed to his empty public schedule, a purple bruise on his hand he slathered with makeup and his swollen ankles, among other things.
The ageing president had to reassure followers he was not, in fact, dead, by posting on his platform, Truth Social: ‘NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE!’
But while the reason Trump’s face appeared slumped is unclear, medical experts told Metro they aren’t so sure that a stroke was behind it.
Dame Caroline Watkins, professor of stroke and older people care at the University of Lancashire, told Metro that it can be difficult to say whether Trump suffered a stroke or not from photographs and footage alone.
‘From the photos, his mouth does look lopsided and drooping down on the right, but they also show him saluting with his right hand, suggesting that he doesn’t seem to have simultaneous arm weakness,’ she said.
‘This doesn’t mean that he hasn’t suffered from a stroke, but isolated facial weakness caused by stroke is rarer.
Watkins added that Trump is known to take prophylactic aspirin therapy as part of his health regimen.
‘This is not recommended if you haven’t had a stroke, as the aspirin can cause side effects,’ she said.
Natalie Mackenzie, a brain injury expert and founder of the cognitive rehab provider BIS Services, says that a key sign of a stroke is facial paralysis.
‘There are other red flags to look out for like memory loss, like sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body and falls,’ she adds.
Other experts said that Trump may have experienced Bell’s palsy, a temporary partial facial paralysis caused by the facial nerve becoming inflamed.
As Watkins notes, Trump did not appear to exhibit other symptoms associated with a stroke, such as wobbly legs, balance problems and vision difficulties.
But if he had, she says, his staff would have undoubtedly come to his aid, as anyone who sees someone suffering a stroke should do.
‘The moment symptoms of a stroke are spotted, you must phone 999,’ Watkins says.
‘A stroke is a medical emergency, so be clear in explaining the symptoms to the call handler. It’s best for the person suffering a stroke to go to hospital in an ambulance, as they can be looked at on the journey and problems can be spotted more quickly.’
Trump has long been guarded about his health, while his physicians have declined to take questions even as the president is filmed struggling to walk down ramps or raise a drinking glass.
Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, when the veins have trouble moving blood back to the heart, in July.
In April, the White House released Trump’s health report, which declared that Trump is ‘fully fit to execute the duties’ of the presidency’.
Though, the doctor note said the president has a history of high cholesterol and now takes two medications, Crestor and Zetia, to lower it.
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