During the ceremony commemorating the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Pentagon, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared with facial features that sparked widespread speculation about his health once again.
Attendees and viewers of the broadcast noticed that the right side of Trump’s face appeared unusually saggy, prompting many to suspect he may have suffered a stroke or what’s known as a mini-stroke.
Trump appeared alongside his wife, Melania Trump, at the event held at the U.S. Department of Defense, where he delivered a speech to the families of victims and members of the armed forces.
Some footage and video clips captured during the occasion showed Trump’s mouth slanted to the right, although he was still able to move his right arm and raise it in a military salute—making it harder to determine the medical cause of these symptoms.
Some doctors explained that facial sagging could be linked to a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which is a brief interruption of blood flow to the brain. This condition affects nearly 240,000 people annually in the United States and becomes more likely with age.
On the other hand, others suggested the condition might be related to facial nerve inflammation known as Bell’s palsy or even caused by extreme fatigue.
Caroline Watkins, Professor of Stroke Patient Care at the University of Lancashire, emphasized the difficulty of diagnosing Trump’s condition based solely on images, noting that facial weakness alone without other symptoms is uncommon in stroke cases.
Meanwhile, other experts pointed out that Trump is reportedly on a preventive aspirin regimen—a treatment generally not recommended for individuals who haven’t previously suffered a stroke due to its potential side effects, according to the Metro newspaper.