Is Trump incontinent? And demented?

Rumors continue about the health of the US president, who turns 80 in June.

Covid-19, , rabies, . Rumors surrounding the health status of Donald Trump have been with him since his first term, but have become more frequent in recent times.

Inaugurated for the first time at the age of 70 and, later, for a second term at the age of 78 — the oldest to assume the presidency, in 2016 — Trump is now approaching 80 years of age, which has fueled speculation about an eventual physical and cognitive decline.

Among the most recurring rumors in recent months are allegations of signs of dementia, possible cardiovascular problems and even signs of skin diseasemotivated by the stains visible on the president’s body in recent public appearances.

Another allegation is that Trump suffers from fecal incontinence.

It is important to highlight right away that there is no direct evidence to confirm this hypothesis. The suspicions are mainly based on public opinions and also those of Noel Casler, a former employee of the program The Apprentice, presented by Trump himself and where he so often said the famous phrase “You’re fired!”. Casler has already gone public several times to say that Trump wore diapers during recordings and that he sometimes “soiled himself”.

Already a year ago, based on “credible sources”, lawyer Ben Meiselas reported that Trump was experiencing moments of flatulence during his own trial, in court.

The topic gained strength again this year, after a video recorded in the Oval Office, in which a sound (at least similar to flatulence) went viral, at 0:32 of the video.

The video, of course, does not constitute conclusive proof — despite the enormous efforts of some people to try to discover the truth.

Insanity?

Bowel control problems are relatively common among older people, especially when associated with cognitive decline. A British man from 2013, cited by , points out that dementia triples the risk of urinary incontinence and quadruples the risk of fecal incontinence. A possible problem with Trump’s incontinence could be seen as another element to support speculation about a possible condition, suspicions that Trump has been battling for years.

These same suspicions are also based on the public behavior of the North American leader, who has already lost the thread of speech more than once. Harry Segal, from the Department of Psychology at Cornell University, in the case of Trump, that this type of incoherence can be interpreted as a sign of loss of the ability to structure complex thought.

The American president has also been caught between allegations of phonemic paraphasia (for starting words without finishing them) and apparent changes in gait, which help spark concerns about his health.