A NCS section scrutinizing President Donald Trump’s well being — including questions about the 79-year-old’s sleep habits — went viral on-line and drew a pointy rebuke from the White House.
On Tuesday, NCS medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner joined host Kate Bolduan to debate the commander-in-chief’s health for workplace forward of Trump’s journey to Walter Reed Medical Center for his second check-up since October.
Reiner, a professor at George Washington University’s School of Medicine and former Vice President Dick Cheney’s longtime heart specialist, outlined what he described as a range of pressing concerns, alluding to the likelihood that the White House has not been clear.
“The president has severe daytime somnolence. He falls asleep very often. He’s fallen asleep in the Oval Office on multiple occasions with people talking to him, in the cabinet room,” he mentioned. “And chronic insomnia is a severe illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, a decrease in cognitive effects in older people,” he added,
Over the previous 12 months, Trump has typically appeared drowsy throughout official occasions, closing his eyes for 10 or 15 seconds, including at a National Guard briefing in March.
“So it’s a real problem and the president appears to struggle to stay awake during the day,” Reiner continued. “And I’d like to hear what the White House has done to evaluate why the president has this increased daytime somnolence and what they’re doing to improve that.”
Reiner additionally pointed to different “visible health concerns,” together with recurring bruising on Trump’s hands and swelling in his ankles. The White House has beforehand attributed these points to vigorous handshaking and persistent venous insufficiency, respectively — explanations the NCS analyst mentioned pressure credibility.
The White House Rapid Response account on X rapidly fired again on the community, posting a sequence of screenshots displaying NCS anchors and visitors mid-blink or wanting downward and accusing them of falling asleep on air.
“Did [Bolduan] and her guest on Fake News NCS just fall asleep mid-interview? Their eyes are CLOSED,” the account wrote Tuesday, alongside a screengrab from Bolduan’s interview with Reiner. “What are they hiding about their health?”
In a press release to The Independent, White House spokesman Davis Ingle dismissed Reiner as probably “a Democrat hack doctor.”
“President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history and any so-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they’ve sworn to,” Ingle mentioned.
Conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly additionally weighed in on the section, which has drawn greater than 1 million views on X, labeling concerns as overblown.
“I love how Trump occasionally nodding off has got to be some secret, scary medical issue (obviously they’re raising his fitness for office). Maybe it’s just that he doesn’t sleep much at night and these events are…kinda long/dry/not that scintillating?” she mentioned in a put up.
Following a go to to Walter Reed, Trump struck a characteristically boastful tone on Truth Social, writing: “Everything checked out PERFECTLY.” Previously, he has claimed he “aced” a cognitive examination.
Still, polling suggests persistent public concern in regards to the president’s well being forward of his eightieth birthday subsequent month.
An April Washington Post/Ipsos survey discovered that simply 40 p.c of Americans imagine Trump has the psychological sharpness required for the presidency. A Reuters/Ipsos ballot from the identical month discovered that 51 p.c imagine his psychological schools declined over 2025 and early 2026.
Former President Joe Biden confronted extra intense scrutiny in polling main as much as his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. In a June 2024 CBS News survey, 65 p.c of respondents mentioned he lacked the cognitive well being to function president.