Trump Appears to Doze Off Again as Doctors Warn of 'Premature Disability and Death' Over His Weight

Donald Trump had just finished telling a Rose Garden crowd about his drive to expand school choice when, still on his feet, the 80-year-old appeared to nod off.

It was the latest in a run of similar episodes that have kept questions about the president's stamina in the news for months. The footage surfaced hours after doctors reviewing his medical data warned that his weight is pushing him towards a heightened risk of 'premature disability and death.'

A White House medical report in May recorded Trump at 238 pounds, roughly 17 stone, up 14 pounds on his previous check. At six foot three, that puts his body mass index at about 29.7, just short of the clinical threshold for obesity.

'Sleepy Don' Resurfaces at the Rose Garden

The event was billed as a back-to-school celebration. Standing beside Education Secretary Linda McMahon and families who say they have benefited from the administration's push, Trump hailed what he called historic progress on parental rights and the drive to hand schooling decisions back to the states. He argued that the United States spends more on education than any other country yet lags on results.

In footage from the event, Trump appeared to shut his eyes while still on his feet after the speeches wrapped. Online, the response was quick, reviving the 'Sleepy Don' label that critics have turned on a president who long branded his predecessor 'Sleepy Joe'. Others renewed familiar questions about his fitness for office.

Trump has waved away the sleeping clips before. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he put the images down to nothing more than a blink. 'Sometimes they'll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they'll catch me with the blink,' he said.

He offered a similar defence of a December cabinet meeting video that showed his eyes closed. 'I didn't sleep. I just closed them because I wanted to get the hell outta here,' he said.

Doctors' Alarm Over the Trump Weight Gain

The medical concern predates this week, but the latest figures have sharpened it. Dr Scott Kahan, who directs the National Centre for Weight and Wellness, told The Washington Post that protecting the president's weight deserves the same seriousness as protecting his life.

'Addressing obesity to protect the president's health should be a priority similar to ensuring Secret Service protections for his life,' he said, adding that 'we know that obesity is a strong risk factor for numerous health issues, as well as premature disability and death.'

David Kessler, a former head of the Food and Drug Administration, pointed to the fat that gathers out of sight. 'That fat around the midsection, that visceral adiposity, is fat around our liver, pancreas, our heart where it doesn't belong,' he told the paper, calling it a driver of heart disease.

During his first term, Trump was already classed as clinically obese, at 244 pounds and a BMI of 30.5, according to official assessments at the time.

Trump's fast-food habit is well documented. Joe Gruters, a Florida lawmaker and former Republican National Committee chairman, recalled one road trip on a local podcast. 'He had hot fries waiting for him from McDonald's. Then he had a Filet-O-Fish, a Quarter Pounder, and a Big Mac, and I think he combined two of them,' he said.

The White House has brushed off the concerns, with communications officials insisting Trump is the 'sharpest, most accessible and energetic' leader the country has had. The president says the cameras keep catching him mid-blink.

Kahan and other physicians argue that, for any ordinary 80-year-old with the same profile, the standard advice would be firm guidance on diet, activity, and long-term planning.