Donald Trump health fears spike as he arrives in Turkey - ‘walking corpse’

Donald Trump has been at the centre of growing health speculation in recent weeks (Image: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Donald Trump has sparked fresh health fears after appearing to lean on another foreign leader while arriving in Turkey for a NATO summit. The US leader was pictured walking alongside Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan after touching down in the West Asian country.

Social media commentators spotted Mr Trump's off-kilter gait while greeting his counterpart, with one narrating: "Erdogan clutches a wandering Trump's arm to guide him around." Another went a step further, labelling the US president a "megalomaniac corpse walking around".

It comes amid growing scrutiny of Mr Trump's physical and cognitive health, following apparent instances of memory loss and public tiredness and visible bodily bruising and swelling.

Erdogan clutches a wandering Trump's arm to guide him around pic.twitter.com/MnP2JxdVA1

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 7, 2026

It comes after a bombshell book by former White House correspondents Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan shone fresh light on Mr Trump's administration last month.

The allegations in Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump included that he has difficulty hearing and has lost "whatever thin verbal filter he had in the past".

Mr Trump's 80th birthday in June also heightened discourse around his abilities to carry out his high-powered and demanding job.

Rahm Emanuel, a prominent Democrat and former chief of staff to Barack Obama, told the New York Times: "Somebody at 80-years-old just doesn't have the physical stamina, the mental stamina for that office."

While appearing at the Turkish summit, Mr Trump confirmed that the US' interim agreement with Iran over the Middle Eastern conflict was "over".

He said: "I don't want to deal with them anymore, they're scum. You know what scrum is? They're scum."

The president continued: "They're sick people. They're led by sick people. And they're vicious, violent people. If they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it. As far as I'm concerned, it's over."